Tracey Benson is a green geek/artist/researcher into connected communities, eco-sustainability, tech/art synergies, maps and open source software.
For many years, artist and researcher Tracey Meziane Benson has focused on notions of national identity, tourism, borders and identity as themes within her creative practice. Primarily, she uses the www and digital data projections and video as mediums. Since 1995, she has been working creatively with the World Wide Web, focusing on developing hyper-textual works, video projects and digital animations. Her digital work has been presented in many online galleries and projects in Australia and overseas. In 2001, her work toured regional galleries around Australia as part of the www.cowgrrls.com project initiated by Cooloola Shire Gallery.
More recent creative explorations have utilised mobile and hand-held online technologies for the creation of virtual and augmented reality works. Interactive AR works have been produced in Dunedin, Auckland, Copenhagen, Canberra, Kochi and New Plymouth. The move to working with hand held devices has also coincided with an increased focus on working collaboratively with Indigenous groups and individuals to gain better understanding of the landscape we inhabit and to raise awareness of the environmental crisis humanity is facing. Her current major projectWords for Water focuses on the humanitarian and environmental issues related to water. Tracey also ultilises solar energy as another material in her installation work, as an attempt to make electronic work ‘off the grid’.
Tracey has been active in a number of media arts communities: in 2007, she co-founded the Canberra chapter of dorkbot with Alexandra Gillespie and was also a moderator on the internationally renowned new media list –empyre- from 2005-07. She has participated in many international digital media events including: Balance-Unbalance15; Waterwheel HOT WATER15, WWWD14; ADA MESH Cities 2014, 2013; ISMAR 2013; SCANZ2015, 2013; ISEA2011, 2008, 2004; THATCamp Canberra 2010; AOIR 2006; Siggraph 2001; N5M4, N5M3 Amsterdam; MAAP2000, 1999.
Tracey has written for a range of publications and events including: Eyeline, Fine Art Forum, Mesh, BORDERPANIC reader, N5M4 and Muse.
In 2001 she received a Research MA from Queensland University of Technology, focusing on souvenirs, nostalgia and personal identity. In 2010 Tracey was awarded a PhD at The Australian National University, which explores online communities and social networking tools. Recent publications include chapters in Mobile Media Practices, Presence and Politics and Locating Emerging Media.
Benson is a Trustee for New Zealand based interdisciplinary organisation Intercreate, where she also has the role of Australasian Programme coordinator.
