Waiting for Cows

Waiting for Cows delves into the complex relationship between humans, animals and technology. Set on a Frisian farm, the main protagonists are a trio of Dutch dairy cows monitored by wearables, conditioned by algorithms and quantified in data. 

Dairy bovines and their farmers have become some of the unlikely forerunners of agricultural automation. Both human and animal are entangled in systems of efficiency, productivity and time management where every cow is assigned a Key Performance Indicator by agri-tech companies. Through a data-led film experience, Waiting for Cows offers rare glimpses into contemporary machinic rituals of farm life where the flow of bovine data reveals much larger systems of power. 

We follow Aergentina 4, Margot 104 and Robina 117 — all mixed breed dairy cows — as they move through their technology routines on the farm. We are introduced to the robot that milks them twice a day. We follow their biometric data streaming into the farmer’s phone from the sensor embedded in their neck collars. We encounter their friends in the herd. Set against this backdrop of technology and control, the Waiting for Cows immersive installation reveals an allegorical tale, opening space for reflection.

Experience
Waiting for Cows consists of a large format interactive film screening, a research wall and a 20-min documentary as part of an overarching installation. Film scenes of the farm location in Friesland are activated by near-real time cow data, collapsing the ever-widening gap between rural and urban experience. The timing of the narrative rests with the herd. Data streamed from cow wearables determine the pace at which visitors view the film. The unfolding narrative shifts beyond glaring questions of technology and capital, towards the more subtle and lesser-felt rhythms of agrarian life. Presented as a cinematic meditation on kinship and human relationships with otherness, Waiting for Cows invites reflection on contemporary concerns of care.

Background
Waiting for Cows is set against the looming backdrop of massive changes for Dutch farmers due to European policy and climate change agendas. Survival tactics, heightened industrialisation, powerful technology companies and painful transitions are all searing influences on this interactive film work. To unpack these elements of the work, affect lab has embarked on a 5-year-long research programme to seek out deeper insights in the field. The results will ultimately be displayed alongside the work in a research table and be available in a forthcoming publication.

Upcoming exhibitions

Waiting for Cows will be on show at MU Hybrid Art House in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, December 13 2024 to March 16 2025.

Launch event: 13 December, at 19:30, 2024. Get your tickets here.

Credits

waiting_for_cows by affect lab

Directors_ Klasien van de Zandschulp & Dr. Natalie Dixon
Creative Producer_ Juliette Brederode
Design Researchers_ Emma Lambaa-Bonde & Minnie Bates
Creative Coders_ Madhu Srinivasa & Rob Bothof
Cinematographer_ Ruben Hamelink
Sound_ Gerben Kokmeijer & Diego van Uden
Editor_ Lianne Kotte
Graphic Designers_ Sasha Fominskaya & Guanyan Wu

Producer_ K.O. Productions
Distribution_ Marieke Nooren
Advisors_ Anne Bruinsma & Victor Muñoz Sanz

With special thanks and appreciation to Fokke Terpstra & Tineke de Groot 

Supported by the Creative Industries Immerse Interact Fund, het Cultuurfonds, Fonds21 and Fonds ZOZ.