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AUTOICON was a dynamic internet work that simulated both the physical presence and elements of the creative personality of the artist Donald Rodney, one of the most significant and essential artists of his generation. After initiating the project, Rodney died from sickle-cell anaemia in March 1998.

Re-Imaging – AUTOICON is a research project exploring the digital embodiment of the artist Donald Rodney, and the challenges of re-authoring a digital legacy.

In conversation with original members of Donald Rodney Plc (a group of artists and close friends who acted as an advisory and editorial board in the artist’s absence) and colleagues from the Blk Arts Group, this salon convened by Ian Sergeant, explores Rodney’s practice and how his legacy informs ideas considering digital creativity, ethics and memorial.

The salon includes a screening of John Akomfrah’s The Genome Chronicles (2009, 33m), the filmmaker’s response to the death of his mother and close friend Donald Rodney in the form of a ‘song cycle’ in ten parts. The film combines Akomfrah’s own footage of repeated trips to the Scottish islands of Skye and Mull with Rodney’s own Super 8 footage.