Tega Brain is an Australian-born digital artist and environmental engineer who is also an assistant professor of Integrated Digital Media at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

(NYU). Brain is known for her eccentric and often purposefully dysfunctional information systems that examine the intersection between digital networks and natural phenomena. Her art works have been discussed widely in press outlets such as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'', ''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ × 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

'', ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Brain's works have been exhibited in multiple museums such as the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

and the

Haus der Kulturen der Welt The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), in English House of World Cultures, in Berlin is Germany's national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and societi ...

in Berlin. In 2021, Brain co-authored the textbook ''Code as Creative Medium'' which serves as a guide for educators and computer scientists about teaching and learning computational art and design.

Education

Brain received a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts at

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

in 2006. She then completed a Masters of Art at the

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

in 2012.

Notable works

In 2015, in response to the decision by

John Hancock Insurance John Hancock Life Insurance Company, U.S.A. is a Boston-based insurance company. Established April 21, 1862, it was named in honor of John Hancock, a prominent American Patriot. In 2004, Canadian multinational life insurance company Manulife F ...

to offer discounts if members shared their personal fitness data as logged by a

Fitbit Fitbit is a product lining, line of wireless-enabled wearable technology, physical fitness monitors and activity trackers such as smartwatches, pedometers and monitors for heart rate, quality of sleep, and stairs climbed as well as related soft ...

, Brain, alongside engineer Surya Mattu, created the website Unfit-Bits. The website offers solutions to spoof fitness data, to "produce data to qualify sersfor incentives from employers or insurers, even if they can't afford a high exercise lifestyle". This work was part of the exhibition, "24/7: A Wake Up Call for Our Non-Stop World" in 2019. In 2020 she created the work, "New York Apartment", with collaborator Sam Lavigne. This work aggregates all

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

real-estate listings and presents them as a fictional massive apartment. Again in 2020, the pair collaborated on a website titled "Get Well Soon!", which archives over 20,000 comments from

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

campaigns and lists them in alphabetical order. ''The New York Times'' described the piece as an "archive of well-wishes and fears, prayers and pleadings, represent a slice of the grief, love, medical costs and mutual aid that define illness in this country."

References

External links

*
Unfit Bits
2020
New York Apartment
2020
Get Well Soon!
2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brain, Tega Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of New South Wales alumni Queensland University of Technology alumni 21st-century Australian women artists Environmental engineers