'T_Cyberhol #9

Welcome at the ninth work session of 'T_Cyberhol. Explore the exciting world of cyborg electronics, infused with the spirit of technofeminism! Together we can shape the future of technology in an inclusive and empowering way, short-circuiting patriarchal and neoliberal technologies.

For beings who are gender non-conforming, gender dissident, trans, fd, dyke, inter, bi, female, non-binary, or identify themselves CYBERFeministBIOHACKTransBORGS.

Initiated by Joke Caimo & ooooo with the support of MORPHO

Mesh Mosh: Reticulum
Low-powered Decentralized Networks

The internet is like a highway without exits. The interfaces we communicate through are nothing more than a multiple choice at best and an infinite scroll at worst, and our next door neighbour is as many servers away from you as a user on the other side of the globe. What happens when we build our own tools for communication, seperated from structures of control and capitalist incentives?

During this session, with Knoflook and Chris_ty, we will explore the possibilities for setting up a decentralized off-grid communications system using the reticulum communication protocol stack . We choose to focus on reticulum because it is designed for heterogeneous networks built from various cheap devices, to be deployed in a bottom-up way by small communities.

The opportunity to make our own communication infrastructure opens possibilities for reimagining how communication and building knowledge can be rooted in play, curiosity and autonomy, away from control of third parties. The [| reticulum] network protocol is meant to facilitate the construction of networks in multitudes. It is a communal exercise in networking, both in the technical and social sense, in which we carefully stitch together hardware devices, our communities and practices. It is both content and materiality in all its messiness. It is climbing on your friend's roof, and tending to our collective digital garden.

Instead of being pushed by the stream of the disinformation superhighway, we would like to travel wherever we please, take the scenic route, enjoy the view, and build community.

→ Knoflook [they/them] likes infrastructures. From administering linux servers to crimping network cables to fixing doors and machines to making spreadsheets and facilitating meetings. They take apart whatever falls into their hands to understand what makes the world tick. A trash aficionado, they snatch electronics from the street to repurpose them for their own cyber raccoon needs and the needs of their communities. They find it politically very important to distribute knowledge and skills related to infrastructure building and maintenance as much as possible - to build independence from the cyberpunk reality we're stuck in.

→ Chris_ty [she/they] is an artist and researcher in the field of everyday technology. By investigating, hacking, reusing and personalising existing technological structures, her work questions how we participate in technological realities and explores how we can take matter[s] into our own hands. She investigated the underlying mechanisms of radio-technologies like the bluetooth protocol and satellites, and currently focuses on developing tools for collective research and repurposing of discarded 'smart' devices. Next to this, she joined forces with a growing community of people building autonomous communication networks, reimagining what they want their communication to look like. Her practice ranges from interactive installations and tools, to facilitating 'collective hacking sessions'; always with the goal to make the black box more transparent and hacking our tools more accessible

Bring your own lunch and possibly plugs, laptops, smartphones for research & documentation + also a soldering iron and basic tools if you have them.