Lynn Hershmann-Leeson‘s Conceiving Ada directed by artist and filmmaker will be screened at Nottingham Contemporary on April 19.
The film is about Ada Lovelace —19th century mathematician who is said to have written the first algorithm carried out by a machine in her notes on “the analytical engine”—played by Tilda Swinton. Emily Coer, a computer genius, finds a way to tap into communicating with the past by working with “undying information waves”. She speaks to Ada Lovelace about computer language and the possibility of making a “difference engine”.
Hershmann-Leeson who showed recently in Whitechapel’s blockbuster show, Electronic Superhighway, made this film in 1997 and since there have been several works around Lovelace, including exhibition, Coded After Lovelace that examines information, code and communication now as well as something with which to reach back through digital history.
See the Nottingham Contemporary event page for more details.**
