The SLOlab: Sympoietic Living Ontologies lab is an interdisciplinary research-creation laboratory that supports the creation of artworks, creative probes, and critical technological investigations that draw attention to complexity and the interconnections found in and around (non) human engagement within the world. Through the mattering of (complex) systems, research in the lab investigates the sympoietic and slippery relationships that weave together and form living ecologies. Creative projects seek out the hidden dependencies within systems, and pluck at the cultural, ecological, political, and philosophical threads that contribute to and make up the fabric of the world that we participate in. Creators in the lab combine traditional and non-tradition art materials with a diverse range of technological tools, including physical computing, IoT, 3D imaging, LIDAR, digital fabrication, machine learning/AI and creative coding to situate participants within embodied and participatory experiences. Research goals for the lab are diverse and range from formal outcomes such as research papers and curatorial, artistic and archival projects, to community focused outreach designed to invigorate conversation through performance, workshops and other events. The SLOlab is an inclusive and open space that fosters dialogue and discovery with the goal of finding new working methodologies and ways of thinking and moving with and through the world.
Students interested in working in the lab should feel free to contact the Director Jane Tingley. The SLOlab is in the Joan and Martin Goldfarb Centre for Fine Arts, in the Department of Computational Arts on the Keele campus of York University in Toronto Canada.
The lab graciously recognizes the generous support of the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design at York University, the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Environments of Change Partnership Grant.