ERROR AS DESTINATION by Simon Weckert

The exhibition highlights hacking as a creative practice in which deliberate interventions and manipulations of digital systems intentionally produce errors in order to direct users and data streams to Null Island − a fictional place located at the coordinates 0°N, 0°E. This symbolic island is a collection point for misdirected data and illustrates how digital technologies develop their own logic when things go wrong. Null Island is referred to as an imaginary island, a cartographic placeholder on the Earth's surface where the Prime Meridian and the Equator intersect. The point has GPS coordinates 0°N 0°E and is located in international waters in the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean, marked there by a stationary buoy. All data that cannot be assigned to a geographic coordinate or is mistakenly entered as 0,0 in databases is assigned to this point, so that such errors can be more easily identified and corrected. As a result, data is mistakenly plotted at this point, representing a place or image of a place that radiates a certain aesthetic − and not what people actually do within it. Null Island may at first seem like a mere cartographic placeholder, but in reality it questions the metaphysical foundations of what we understand as existence in our imagination.

"Where did the path lead, if it led nowhere?"

Because of the variety and volume of data that unintentionally ends up there, Null Island has earned nicknames like "A place for Bad Data" or "A place like no place on earth." This data spans databases and datasets and affects some of the world's most popular location-based services with hundreds of millions of images and data points: everything from smartwatches, photo-sharing sites, booking apps, and mapping services to countless Airbnbs, Burger Kings, e-commerce platforms, Segways, and warehouses appear at this location. I imagine what the inhabitants of this island might look like − how they spend their mornings in suburban streets lined with row houses or wander through micro-neighborhoods made up only of tourist shops selling goods from major cities around the globe.

This place "Null Island," this "non-place" where reality and imagination merge, where ideas, dreams, and visions flow together, has captured my interest. Here, things come together that don't belong together; what must not be is revealed in a place that challenges our understanding of space, knowledge, and humanity, inviting us to explore the hidden layers of the digital world − and hold up a mirror to ourselves.

I want to travel to Null Island − but how do I get there? How can one travel to a place that is, by nature, a blank space? Whose materiality is fleeting? A place that exists only to accommodate what doesn't belong, a place full of errors, mistakes, typos − a land made entirely of bad data. How can I reach it? Or, more simply put:

"How can I deliberately make a mistake?"

1. BLUE NOISE:

Open-source Wireless Jamming Pentesting Device using ESP32-WROOM-32D & 2 NRFL01+PA+LNA Modules
https://www.simonweckert.com/bluenoise.html

2. DIGITAL CAMOUFLAGE:

Adversarial Texture with text script YOLOv2&3 to run against it.
https://www.simonweckert.com/digitalcamouflage.html

3. NULL ISLAND ID:

Too often, we're asked: Why does this person need to know my name? At shops, hotels, or returns counters, personal data like name, birthdate, or address is routinely requested—even when it's unnecessary. Null Island’s Identity Card is your response: a customizable photo ID you control.
https://www.simonweckert.com/nullislandID.html

4. NULL ISLAND:

GPS-SDR-SIM generates GPS baseband signal data streams, which can be converted to RF using software-defined radio (SDR) platforms, such as ADALM-Pluto, bladeRF, HackRF, and USRP.
https://www.simonweckert.com/nullisland.html

5. OCEAN GLITCH:

64x64 LED Panel
https://www.simonweckert.com/oceanglitch.html

6. BAD DESTINATION:

Using this device you can trick your phone into appearing almost anywhere in the connected world. Locations can be collected on-site or remotely using the Wigle.net API.
https://github.com/Delivers/BadDestination

HACK ?

Hacking, history, movements and perceptions

The first hackers emerged as early as the 1950s with amateur radio operators. For them, "hacking meant creative tinkering to improve how a system works."

Hacking is an English word often translated as "pirating" or "breaking in." At the same time, "to hack" also means tinkering with computer systems or making life easier. According to Wikipedia, hacking is tinkering, experimenting, driven by "passion, play, enjoyment, necessity, and sharing." Hacking also includes "a set of techniques used to explore the capabilities, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities of a material or human element. It can also mean repairing, maintaining, or improving hardware or software."

The image of the hacker as a pirate was largely shaped by 1980s science fiction films. There, they appear as brilliant but destructive computer experts. Films like Wargames or Tron convey a stereotypical view of hackers as solitary actors in a dark world striving for power. The distinction between well-meaning hackers and so-called "Black Hats" is often unclear, and ethical nuances are lost to the general public.

This portrayal likely stems from anti-piracy measures by many governments that criminalize hackers and piracy. The video "Piracy is Theft!" was produced by the MPAA, a U.S. lobbying organization for the film industry. In the 2000s, this anti-piracy spot appeared on DVDs and compared copying films to car theft and burglary, aiming to sensitize consumers. As a result, piracy and hacking were often portrayed as illegal and immoral acts.

However, sharing cultural content can also have positive social value − so argue advocates of the open-source movement. They call for a reform of copyright law and promote free access to knowledge. These ideas form the foundation of open-source culture, which began in the 1980s with Richard Stallman. He developed the concept of Copyleft as an alternative to copyright and played a key role in creating the free operating system Linux. In this open project, developers are invited to contribute − a mindset deeply rooted in hacker culture. Later, Aaron Swartz advocated for Creative Commons licenses that allow content to be legally copied, modified, and shared. The open-source movement remains active to this day and continues to drive the development of free software and content.

The culture of openness ties into the hacker ethic described by Pekka Himanen in his book The Hacker Ethic and the Spirit of the Information Age. He distinguishes between work, money, and network ethics. Hackers do not work primarily for financial gain, but out of passion, curiosity, and joy. They value collaboration and the exchange of knowledge and reject rigid hierarchies. Himanen contrasts hacker ethics with the Protestant work ethic as defined by Max Weber, which emphasizes capitalist work obligation, while hacker ethics represent a social innovation that goes beyond computer science.

The various forms of hacking

Project by Simon Weckert