The Brooklyn-based group experiment vydavy sindikat – Russian for “you collective” – will be featured in an exhibition entitled Computing the Social. Based on a series of performances called Public Gatherings that were throughout New York City from 2004 – 2006, vydavy sindikat’s exhibition at LMAKprojects in Williamsburg will include photography, video, and newsprint documentation. Computing the Social refers to the formula vydavy sindikat developed for an architectural competition called One Land Two Systems, organized to create an alternative master plan for the unrecognized Palestinian village of Ein Hud. Public Gatherings involved assembling in public spaces for group photographs that were designed to bring together both intentional and unintentional attendees who were asked to complete a form about how they found out about the gathering. The photographic portrait was then distributed to those who completed the survey. vydavy sindikat then analyzed the ways that spontaneous community can be formed without a predetermined political agenda. The equation below is made up of the following values:

b = body s = space t = time a = attendant

vydavy sindikat was initiated by artist Yevgeniya Plechkina and architect Misha Sklar. It involves a fluctuating group of participants: friends, family, and passersby. Computing the Social is curated by Sara Reisman.