about ~
Pseudo
PSEUDO is a new media art collective and non-profit organisation. As an artist collective we make hybrid digital performances grounded in both vanguard new media art as well as digital embodiment. As an organisation, we are dedicated to supporting artists new media artists, with a particular focus on expanded performance. PSEUDO is based on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country in a shared Brunswick studio. We work across Australia and the Asia-Pacific, exploring new possibilities in new media art, live performance, expanded cinema, and DIY music. We foster experimentation and knowledge-sharing through workshops, residencies, and collaborative projects
Our contributions to knowledge since 2023 have included conference presentation at ANAT Synapse, workshops with Arts House, SIGNAL, Lucy Guerin inc and the University of Melbourne, as well as local and international residencies through the P2P residency exchange and PSEUDO residency programs.
Our creative works since 2023 have collectively presented work at CTM Festival, Arts House, the Sydney Opera House, ACMI, The Substation, MONA, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Chunky Move, West Kowloon Cultural District, Digital Art Centre Taipei, Asia Culture Centre Korea, Ambispace One Taipei and Basement Theatre Aoteroa.
[Project Overview]
Stigmergic
Venue: National Communications Museum Melbourne
Outcome: Activated Networked Exhibition
Duration: July - September 2026
Led by: PSEUDO
Stigmergic reimagines how creative communities build and utilise digital infrastructure, creating both exhibition and working demonstration of cooperative alternatives to extractive digital platforms. The exhibition functions as ongoing research into how creative communities can self-organise through peer-to-peer networks, with the network infrastructure itself serving as both artistic medium and critique of monopolised internet software landscapes.
[Network]
At its core, the main artwork of Stigmergic is the construction of the network itself. Protocols and infrastructure present a new artistic medium where technical systems become expressive tools. Although inherently technical, the way we design, build, and deploy this network—prioritising cooperation over extraction, community participation over individual consumption—transforms infrastructure into art practice. The network's architecture embodies our critique of monopolised digital platforms, with designs and processes serving as both functional necessity and artistic statement. This approach positions protocol development as creative practice, where the act of building alternative digital frameworks becomes the primary artistic gesture of the exhibition.
Working with Exhibition Digital, we create web-based protocols forming the exhibition's technical backbone—backend infrastructure bridging internet and physical gallery space. Dr Sam McGilp will coordinate onsite network creation, linking web databases to media distribution across the gallery. The documentation of this network creation process forms the exhibition's centrepiece.
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[Peers] [confirmed collaborators]
PSEUDO
Mat Spisbah
Harrison Hall
Henry Lai Pyne - eek
Sam Mcgilp
Studio Collaborators
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Wash Dog Studio (Adelaide) - Experimental formats blurring workshop, performance, and audience participation
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NAXS Studio (Taiwan) - Parasitic livestreamed workshop series in collaboration with C-Lab
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Meta Objects (Hong Kong) - Academic presentations and workshops on creative network design historie
Academic Collaborators
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Jasmin Pfferkorn (University of Melbourne) - Workshops on network protocols and collective creativity tools
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Sean McMorrow (University of Melbourne) - Academic collaboration on theoretical aspects of networked objects
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Ashley Wong (Chinese University of Hong Kong) - Historical context of networked artists communities from early internet to blockchain era.
International Partners
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C-Lab Taiwan - A presenting partner who will engage in node based curation in Taiwan. Selecting Taiwanese artists to contribute to the network and have their works displayed.
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M+ Hong Kong - Panel discussions with Meta Objects on physical-digital hybrid translation across cultural contexts
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Rhizome New York - Digitally curated project commissioned by Rhizome through their extended network of artists
[Commissioned Works] [5-10 New Commissions]
Confirmed Commissions
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Parasitic Worm Interventions - NAXS network takeover mimic viral parasitic internet worms
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Mathew Spisbah - Scam art work about the invisible, emotional and territorial connections scamming culture has created in the modern internet.
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Harrison Hall - New video work - Motion capture and game engine
Open Commission Slots
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[3-6 Additional Commissions] - Australian and international artists creating works exploring peer-to-peer collaboration
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[Community-Generated Works] - Work generated for Seeding Worokshop run by Pseudo team
[Node Based Curation Model]
[Node Based Curation Model]
Within the Stigmergic exhibition's framework, the node-based curation model distributes curatorial agency across interconnected nodes. Based on a relationships and models such and peer to peer sharing - each node operates as both contributor and curator, inviting artists, studios, and creative groups to participate by interacting or contributing to the network.
The network protocol actively participates as a curatorial agent, enabling split-screen presentations, pairing different audio with video, and creating unexpected mashups between works. When works enter through any node, they become available for algorithmic recombination within the processes of the Network, creating a hybrid curation model where human cultural knowledge collaborates with intentional network design.
Nodes:
Melbourne Hub - Facilitated through Pseudo Studios and National Communications Museum primary exhibition space
Adelaide Node - Facilitated through washdog studios Extending access to the network through Washdog
Taipei Node - Facilitated through NAXS Studio and C-Lab
Hong Kong Node - Facilitated through M+ and Meta Objects academic partnership
New York - Facilitated through Rhizome
Loaned Works
Approximately 20 Pre-existing Works - Each node will get a portion of funding to select and curate a selection of artists that will contribute to these nodes. Australian artists and extended Pseudo network members contributing existing digital works to be displayed through the network infrastructure.
Potential artist list:
Amrita Hepi
Matt Adey
Liam Sommerville
Fetle Wondimu
Rel Pham
Naina Sen
Max Brading
Chris Chua
Bhenji Ra
Ben Joseph Andrews
Tristen Jalleh
Sarah Aiken
Quinn Jones
Spencer Rose
Branden To
Michael Carney
Nasim Patel
Tom vanderzeil
Arthur Ah Chee
Emma Roberts
[Seeding and Leeching Event Series] [July - September 2026]
Workshop/Academic Programme
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Seeding working - Run by the Pseudo team, participants will get a 2-3 day workshop in digital media practices (motion capture, touch designer, audio coding, game engine technology) to create a new work to be ingested into the network
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Network Protocol Panel - Jasmin Pfefferkorn and Sean McMorrow, University of Melbourne collaborators will run a seminar on media theory connected to network capitalism.
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Meta Objects Talk - Ashley Wong from Chinese University of Hong Kong will give and talk and panel discussion around the history of alternative creative networks. How these evolved from early dotcom networks, to the blockchain DAO’s that are around today.
Performance Program
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Open Rehearsals - Pseudo team will host open rehearsals in the space as a way to bring the physical development process of new media works into the space. Both of these projects are scheduled to premier next year, one will be chosen for an open rehearsal
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Creepy Pasta Development - Live development sessions blending digital folklore with contemporary practice
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GG Development - Gaming culture informing artistic practice through community engagement
[Outcomes]
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Artist Development - 5 new commissions and 30+ works contributed via node-based curation model, plus new works generated through pseudo's 3-day seeding workshops directly ingested into the network
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International Engagement - Deep engagement through dual exhibition and live programming participation, with C-LAB Taiwan as confirmed presenting partner curating selected artists for network participation, supported by international studio partners NAXS Studio and Meta Objects expanding global reach and connections
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Academic Outputs - Uni Melbourne workshop integrating platform capitalism analysis and demonstrating why alternative networks are imperative, plus Ashley Lee Wong's historical survey of creative networks and pioneering artists in this field
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Working Network Infrastructure - Functioning demonstration of cooperative digital frameworks which can be repurposed and reused in new digital contexts and an artistic template for multi-directional cultural exchange beyond corporate platforms
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Community Impact - Supports Australian new media artists through new collaborative frameworks and revenue streams outside traditional gallery systems, while extending Australia's creative networks internationally via connections with Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai nodes. Through pseudo's ongoing workshops and shared studio initiatives, the model enables local practitioners to access global opportunities and resources, suggesting sustainable working methods for networked creative practice.