HYPERSEA

Hypersea is the artist name of Hannah Cobb, a post-disciplinary practitioner based in Manchester, UK. Hannah is a visual artist, musician, writer and cultural theorist whose work specialises in the use of emerging technology, machine learning and artificial intelligence. She is originally from Preston and graduated from Manchester School of Art with a BA(Hons) in Fine Art in 2021.

Hannah, along with partner Declan Colquitt, form the duo Y7, who have had written work published in Flash Art, 032c, the modernist and Polyester Zine. The duo have worked with writer and curator Shumon Basar on a number of projects, most notably the third instalment of his ‘Lorecore’ residency for Zora Zine in 2023, for which they collaborated on a short film. In late 2023, Y7 produced their first feature-length film titled Report 5923, based on the work of Ursula K. Le Guin and exploring the use of Generative A.I tools for world-building and human x machine storytelling. Report 5923 has been screened at a small number of universities around the UK, including Edinburgh College of Art, alongside which the duo guest-lectured on Contemporary Art and A.I and participated in a panel discussion around prescient issues surrounding the emerging tools used and their wider cultural implications.
In early 2024, Hannah & Declan were invited to make new video work for and speak at the Global Art Forum in Dubai.

In April, Hannah released her debut solo EP titled artefact, supported by funding from Help Musicians UK. The EP was constructed mainly with A.I processed stems of the artist’s previous vocal recordings. Hannah has played synth as a session musician for North-West based group Working Mens Club, with whom she has toured the UK, EU and USA, and played numerous festivals including Glastonbury 2023. As Hypersea, Hannah has DJ’d in several venues around the North West. She has also produced music videos for artists such as White Flowers, Powders, Julia Bardo and most recently, Lutalo.

With Y7, Hannah has participated in panels and presentation events at the Architectural Association, Edinburgh College of Art for The New Real and Reference Point for web-3 platform Zora. Y7 will be presenting a panel at Unsound festival in Krakow in October discussing their article Post-Music: Apocalypse Soundcheck published in 032c magazine earlier this year. Hannah hosts monthly reading groups at P3: Annihilation Eve in Ancoats and is interested in developing networks for information exchange, self-sustaining creative ecosystems and spaces for collective consciousness-raising and collaboration.