Test Time - Hedda Roman

In the organizer's words:

Under the title Test Time, the Kunstverein Bielefeld is presenting an overview of works by the artist collective Hedda Roman specially conceived for the Kunstverein for the first time from August 30 to November 9, 2025. The exhibition unfolds as a poetic-scientific experimental arrangement that questions the relationship between human consciousness and machine learning and incorporates experiences of time into this observation. The title Test Time refers to the moment of thinking that leads to a conclusion, so-called "reasoning". A kind of algorithmic reasoning that can be applied to both the human brain and the computer. For Hedda Roman, this moment is a "productive delay" that represents more than just computing time. In the exhibition, it becomes a mirror for human reflection and touches on what the philosopher Henri Bergson described as durée: the lived, subjective time of consciousness - an inner flow of moments - that eludes pure measurability. Through drawings, poems, prints, films, generative image processes and spatial installations, a walkable course through various forms of image and time is created: flowing, frozen, hidden and narrative. Time becomes visible here as something that moves, overlaps, condenses and poses the question: How long does a picture last?

The exhibition not only provides fascinating insights into future forms of artistic image creation and the associated challenges of seeing and perceiving. It also shows the use of AI technologies as a collaborative artistic process and explores the relationship between reality and virtuality.

Hedda Roman is an interdisciplinary artist duo from North Rhine-Westphalia, consisting of Hedda Schattanik and Roman Szczesny. Since its foundation in 2014, the collective has been exploring the interfaces between art, technology and language. Their works specifically integrate artificial intelligence and combine cinematic elements, surrealist animations, literature and sculptures to create extensive installations. Their artistic questions revolve around existential themes that arise from thinking about the complex conditions of living together.