Silica Valley explores the interplay between technology and human creativity in an age when tech is both so integrated into our lives as to go unnoticed, but also threatening in its growing presence. The show’s title is a play on Silicon Valley, the California technology hub that is home to many of the top computing and media companies, and silica, a compound key in the production of glass. This connection demonstrates that the components of technology and art are not so separate and can mesh in interesting new ways, as shown by the various fusions created by the artists in their works.
Though technological innovation is key to the development of the featured artists’ work, their final products tend to only express this subtly. This is reminiscent of how the beauty of technology often goes unnoticed because of its ubiquity in our daily lives. The works stand on their own as inventive, imaginative pieces even when their technological background initially remains hidden.

“Every robot needs a human,” says John Sharvin, Silica Valley’s curator.

Even in an age where technology seems ever more ascendant, it is important to remember that people are the ones who provide its workings with meaning and context.