The history of illutron

illutron was created by HalfMachine members in 2007 to create a space for the creation of interactive audience-controlled art installations partly made from recycled materials. Halfmachine started in 2003 and was created by an interdisciplinary group of artists, performers and technology enthusiasts. It was and is inspired by Burning Man's principles of everyone as active co-creative participants, not just spectators. It was an annual two-week event in which the Grey Hall at Christiania was filled with living works and experiments that work with the intersection between technology, art and people. This event was fertile ground for creating the environment around what is today considered ART+Technology in Copenhagen. In this environment, there was a great need to expand to be able to create and work all year round. The ship/Barge was purchased in 2007 to have permanent workshops and ongoing events by, for and with the environment around ART+Tek. The basic principles for the barge were the following:

Apart from this approach being the basic principle for the works created on the barge, it also became a way of approaching the barge itself. The old original systems (such as the crane) were refurbished and explored both on a creative and practical level. In addition, the fact that the barge is a floating workshop on the water was a primary subject for ongoing investigation and experimentation.

The fact that the artists were at sea was both a love of the water and the activities the land-water interface can do, and a comment on the skyrocketing of land prices, glass office buildings and the lack of art in fashionable city centres. The year was 2007; there was a boom, it was before the financial crisis, and the artists were looking for premises to make the Halfmachine event a year-round undertaking. But we couldn't afford it, and what we could almost afford were all short leases in old industrial buildings which, within a very short number of years, had to be demolished to build fine office buildings with mirrored glass facades. They were expensive, but dilapidated and had to be repaired just to be usable, and when you had to move out already in a year, the improvements could not be taken with you.

If there was no room for the artists on land, then we had to stand at sea. It also gave the advantage that improvements could be taken with them, and this gave the opportunity to create activity and life in the port. once the lifeblood of Copenhagen, but at that time only populated by kayakers. A great many works, cultural events and workshops have had water as a focal point.