!Mediengruppe Bitnik
artist, based in Berlin, Germany.
!Mediengruppe Bitnik (read: the not Mediengruppe Bitnik) are contemporary artists working on, and with, the internet. Their practice expands from the digital to physical spaces, often intentionally applying loss of control to challenge established structures and mechanisms. They have been known to subvert surveillance cameras, bug an opera house to broadcast its performances outside, send a parcel containing a camera to Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and physically glitch a building. In 2014, they sent a bot called «Random Darknet Shopper» on a three-month shopping spree in the Darknets where it randomly bought items such as keys, cigarettes, trainers ,and ecstasy and had them sent directly to the gallery space. !Mediengruppe Bitnik’s works formulate fundamental questions concerning contemporary issues. Mediengruppe Bitnik are Carmen Weisskopf and Domagoj Smoljo. They are based in Berlin. Their works are shown internationally, most recently in exhibitions at Kunsthalle Osnabrück, Aksioma Ljubljana, Super Dakota Brussels, CAC Shanghai, LOAF Kyoto, Annka Kultys Gallery London, House of Electronic Arts Basel, Eigen + Art Lab Berlin, Istria Industrial Art Biennial and Pinakothek der Moderne Munich. Their work has received awards including the Swiss Art Award, PAX Art Award, Prix de la Société des Arts Genève, the Golden Cube, Dokfest Kassel and an Honorary Mention from Prix Ars Electronica.
From The Art of Hacking Surveillance Systems, March 2026
