Cloud Opera through the prism of artistic research: looking for media archaeological issues from the clouds

Abstract Cloud Opera or The Dido Problem (Vaba Lava, Tallinn, Feb-Mar 2019) is a theatrical performance investigating, through artistic means, the human condition in the datafied world. The play was created in collaboration between Vaba Lava theatre and Tallinn University’s Centre of Excellence in Media Innovation and Digital Culture (MEDIT). In terms of its representations, the play combined references to man-made data ‘clouds’ with knowledge on atmospheric clouds and suggested that the former are just as unpredictable and uncontrollable as the latter. In this article, Liina Keevallik, the author and the scenographer of the performance together with Indrek Ibrus, a media researcher, discuss the uses of the media archaeological approach both in artistic practice and in creating “Cloud Opera”. We also discuss what media archaeological “findings” we could glean from the scenic elements of the play.