About

Martin Backes, born in 1977 in Germany, is a Berlin-based artist, creative technologist, director, hacker and composer. He studied Media Art & Design as well as Sound Studies at the University of Arts in Berlin. In his works, he often uses media technologies to reflect certain functionalities, effects, ideologies, and human perception, playing with the ambiguity between the physical world and the digital realm, reflecting the blurred boundaries between analog and digital, reality and simulation, stability and disruption, figure and abstraction. Backes cross-border and experimental field of activity in the intermediate area of art, science, technology, and culture ranges from augmented reality (AR) and multimedia sound works to theatre dance pieces and installations, as well as sculptural and computer/video works.

His work has been shown at numerous international museums, galleries and theatres including Municipal Theatre Bielefeld (DE), Mediamatic Amsterdam (NL), MuseumsQuartier Wien (AT), MAK Design Lab (AT), International Spy Museum (US), Belgrade City Museum (RS), Mochvara Gallery (HR), NIU Art Museum Illinois (US), New Media Gallery (CA), Austrian Cultural Forum (DE) and TEDx (ES), been featured at festivals including Vienna Biennale (AT), CTM (DE), MÈQ (FRA), Nemo (FRA), Nuit Blanche Paris (FRA), Transmediale (DE), BIAN/Elektra (CA), Die Digitale (DE), B-Seite (DE), ADAF (GR) and EMAF (DE). WIRED, CreativeApplications.Net, The Creators Project, Create Digital Music, Gizmodo, Boing Boing, Business Insider, Engadget, Fast Company, Designboom, The Local, El Periódico and Süddeutsche have written about his work, as has Neural Magazine, Quotation Magazine, Kaltblut Magazine, and the European Youth Trend Report.

Besides his experimental work, he is working as a creative director & technologist, audiovisual consultant, sound & media designer, design sprint facilitator, and lecturer. Martin Backes is co-founder of aconica, a design studio for audiovisual communication and founder of Design Sprints Studio, a product design, strategy and innovation consultancy based in Berlin.

Curriculum Vitae

Martin Backes lives and works in Berlin, Germany
since 2019 founded Desgin Sprints Studio, Berlin, Germany
2019 Lectureship at CODE University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany
2014-2017 Lectureship at SRH Hochschule der populären Künste (hdpk), Berlin, Germany
2011-2017 Master of Fine Arts “Media Art and Design”, UdK, Berlin, Germany
2009-2014 Lectureship at the btk – University of Applied Sciences Europe, Berlin, Germany
2009 Master Programm Christina Kubisch, Artsummer 09 Schwaben, Germany
since 2009 founded aconica, agency for sound, design and interactive media, Berlin, Germany
2008 worked as a Sound Designer for Native Instruments GmbH, Berlin, Germany
2006-08 Master of Arts “Sound Studies”, UdK, Berlin, Germany
2006 founded Studio Martin Backes, Berlin, Germany
2005 works as a freelance Sound Designer
2002-2003 worked as Radio DJ and Producer, DJ-sets.com, Berlin, Germany
since 2001 works as music producer, composer and sound engineer
since 1999 DJ, several residencies
1995-1998 worked as a brewer and maltster, Werneck, Germany
1977 born in Rosenheim, Germany

Nominations

2013 GASAG Artprice 2014, Germany
2012 INDEX Award 2013 (Category ‘Community’), Denmark, Copenhagen
2011 THE LEO Award (Most successful combination of image and sound) – Braunschweig International Film Festival, Germany

Scholarships

2018 Q21 / MuseumsQuartier Vienna, Artist-in-Residence, Vienna, Austria
Temp Studio Residency, Lisbon, Portugal
2009 Abbey Irsee, in cooperation with University of Augsburg and Schwabenakademie Irsee, Germany