waiting for cows

You are not the only one collecting data with a smartwatch or a pedometer. Aergentina 4, Margot 104 and Robina 117 also have wearables. But these are Friesian dairy cows, whose biometric data determines the pace and content of the film being shown.

The location of the story: the Frisian dairy farm Okkingastate. The protagonists: three Dutch cows, equipped with wearables, conditioned by algorithms and quantified in data. This interactive installation explores the complex relationship between people, animals and technology, with dairy cattle and their farmers emerging as the unexpected frontrunners in agricultural automation. Through a data-driven film experience, waiting for cows offers rare insights into the contemporary machinic rituals of farm life, in which the data flows from these cows reveals larger power structures. Near real-time data, streamed from the smart collar sensor and the milking robot, determine the content and pace at which the film is viewed. In this cinematic meditation, the narrative shifts beyond the big questions of technology and capital to the more subtle and less conspicuous rhythms of farm life.