PIFimpressions by Karolina

While attending the TTT conference at Kino Šiška in Ljubljana in September 2025, I got the feeling that there is something home-like about Slovenia, and I would love to return and explore the country further. Aside from everything else, Slovenia has always been an incubator for new media and hybrid art. So, there must be something in the water—or the air—that causes it. :)

To find out for myself, I contacted Projekt Atol to ask if they would host me for my ongoing project, Self Defense. Then Uroš suggested that the PIFcamp could be an ideal setting for it. I had heard about the camp before, but I had never really paid much attention to it. I went through the blog and all the previous editions to learn more about the character of the endeavor. It was a risky move. On the one hand, I could really understand what had been going on there so far. On the other hand, I somehow became insecure and a bit scared.

I work in biotechnology and biological research, but my biggest shame is that I don’t code, and I struggle to build even simple electronics. So, I thought I would fit in there like a shit in the forest. I imagined people would find it super strange that I was asking them to work with toxic plants and embroidery.

Another little worry I had was about being in a fairly large group of people all the time, even sleeping in the same room. I am an introvert and a loner, and I need moments of solitude every day.

All my doubts turned out to be exaggerated. I never felt like I didn’t belong. There was space for everyone and every kind of activity. It was quite funny to see my little plant lab surrounded by soldering stations and cables. In the end, we were all working with circuits.

Photos: Katja Goljat

When it came to socializing, it went unexpectedly well for me. I really enjoyed being able to focus on my work while knowing that everyone around me was equally immersed in theirs. We could talk or help each other, but we could also sit quietly next to one another. The Soča River offered a perfect retreat whenever a bit more physical distance was needed.

Photo: Nastja Ambrozic

Photo: Katja Goljat

The camp was the first situation in my life where I truly let go of the constant pressure to produce and to produce the best. I went hiking instead of working, which is completely unlike me. I also wasn’t stressed about nobody choosing my workshop, about not being able to attend all the activities others organized, or about anyone feeling offended because of it.

Photos: Karolina Żyniewicz

The Soča Valley has its own microclimate, but the PIFcamp embraces it to create a distinct social climate. It was a wild yet safe environment. I found it especially meaningful that, in one-on-one conversations, we openly shared our insecurities and supported one another.

Getting back to my workshop, people came, participated, and did an amazing job. We realized that embroidery is actually not that far from soldering. :) It was wonderful to see the guys doing embroidery for the first time and becoming so engaged that they kept working on their pieces in the evenings. Apparently, this year’s edition was full of textiles. Dasha ran a crochet workshop, and Zoe led one on weaving. It brought an interesting new dimension to the camp’s dynamics.

Photo: Katja Goljat

Photo: Karolina Żyniewicz

Photo: Katja Goljat

An essential part of the camp for me was the presence of the non-human campers. We became an easy target for wasps, so we tried to find the best ways to keep them away. I must confess that I had a small ethical dilemma when I saw the wasp traps and the insects fighting for their lives. Well, what could we do? Getting stung moves posthumanism a little further down the hierarchy of values. :)

There were also two young cats, one of them completely black. I don’t even have to mention that everyone wanted to cuddle with it. We also had adventurous chickens wandering around. And finally, there was Txupilka del Diablo, who completely stole everyone’s heart, and we all competed for her attention. :) She is definitely my big camp crush. :)

Photo: Karolina Żyniewicz

Photo: Katja Goljat

Photo: Katja Stefanic

Besides the domesticated species, I encountered many fascinating wild creatures, especially the horsehair worm—a remarkable parasite that develops inside insects such as crickets, eventually manipulating its host into jumping into water. The insect dies, and the worm begins its adult life in the water. I kept one in a bottle filled with water, and it stayed alive until the end of the camp.

Photo: Karolina Żyniewicz

I can’t count how many beetles I carried from one side of the road to the other, trying to protect them from being crushed.

Photo: Karolina Żyniewicz

As for poisonous Alpine plants, I collected several species in the Juliana Alpine Botanical Garden and during a mountain hike. The absolute queen of toxicity is wolfsbane (Aconitum), which contains aconitine. As little as 5 mg can be lethal. One of the campers kept calling me Poison Ivy, and I have to admit I quite like it as a new nickname. :)

Photos: Karolina Żyniewicz

I am writing these impressions while sitting at the airport, waiting for my flight back to Berlin. My thoughts may be a bit chaotic because everything is still so fresh. I am a little sad. Moving from the mountains back to smelly, dirty Berlin is quite a cognitive and aesthetic shock. :)

Will I come back to the PIFcamp next year? Well, I’ll practice my live soldering, and then I can apply again. :)

Text by Karolina Żyniewicz.

Sid’s PIFblog: part 3


Friday rolls around and brings the mandatory hike. It’s both deeply dreaded and loved. Some drag their feet, desperate to get every second they can to work on their projects. Most are happy to hike down to the beautiful spot and jump from the white rocks into the icy cold teal river for a moment of relief from the heat. Especially difficult for everyone who stayed up late at Patch From Scratch watching live coding and music performances.

For some this hike will be the first time they’ve left camp at all this week. Fšk even got a round of applause for joining even though he insisted he would not leave his corner. 

We can all feel the pressure of Open Saturday, but we also want to enjoy so many of the last moments. Today we have our last meals together like this, sitting on the narrow benches or across the field. 

The kitchen crew has kept us well fed with all kinds of delicious foods from pasta to goulash, plus an extra fun night of hot dogs that everyone especially loved. I’m certain we will all miss the food. Or at least not having to think about food, having it come out hot and fresh with little effort on our part.

There’s an overwhelming sense of optimism. Despite few projects being complete, no one is necessarily concerned. Things will come together, in one way or another. Something will exist, whether it is what people planned or something new. 

Or if people got side tracked, hopping on other people’s projects to change or improve them. 

Collaboration is a huge part of PIF, people are extremely ready and willing to share what they know. Some of these collaborations will stretch far beyond PIFcamp, and people will find each other in locations all around the world to make amazing things together. Some are as ephemeral as each edition of PIF, they will happen here and only here. In this specific setting, where anything can happen. 

Yesterday Coralie ran a workshop on PIFtime, participants debated on how the day passed. There was discussion around what hours felt the longest and the shortest, which parts of the day moved by too fast and which dragged on. 

Right now time is moving so quickly with just one day until Open Saturday and yet every minute feels long as we continue to find ways to connect and make together. A whole week has rushed by, measured in currents and LEDs, but at the same time this strange little space seems to have endless days. 

Overall it seems clear that no one regrets the time they spend here. The people, the valley, the river, and the camp accept each other openly. We find ways to work through language barriers, personalities and cultural quirks with little hesitation. 

When the wind hit hard and fast people rushed to secure tents and collect each other’s bathing suits. Everyone was ready to help out and keep each other safe. 

It’s going to be strange to leave and lose this pocket of community but the PIFcamp #12 participants are following the theme well. While we work on our projects we also are growing circuits of connection amongst one another, strengthening relationships that have existed for all 11 years of PIF while forming brand new ones. 

Text by Sid Drmay.

Second Impressions by Sid

Exploring PIFcamp and the surrounding area will lead you to unlimited discoveries. Whether it’s learning from your fellow participants or from the space itself, there’s so much here. 

A non exhaustive list of things you can find:

  • old 3D print filament
  • unaccompanied odd pieces of electronics
  • club mate bottles
  • the thickest moss you can imagine
  • children playing with the kitten
  • participants playing with their projects
  • The days are segmented by meals. Breakfast 8:30-9:30, lunch 14:00-15:00pm, dinner 19:00-20:00. In between these meals are endless opportunities. 
  • The schedule board fills up quickly with tape, each piece has handwritten information from a fellow participant with what they’re going to run.

We’re on Day 4 and we’ve had:

  • soldering workshop
  • a gentle intro to time travel
  • keyboard monster controller
  • a talk on magic, AI, and surveillance
  • a lemon squeezing workshop
  • biodata device workshop
  • energy harvesting workshop
  • plant self-defence worksop
  • workshop workshop for workshopping workshops
  • a discussion on where waste goes
  • co-building a cardboard smoker
  • focus groups on technological failure
  • tai chi sessions
  • a workshop talk on data centres, crochet and dr seus
  • linden berry picking session
  • a laser show
  • a Hackers (1995) screening
  • daily VR experiences
  • two hikes

Somehow within all of that you can find people scattered around the space working on their projects. For some, running a session is part of the project. 

At events like PIF you have to become very comfortable with missing out; there’s simply no way to attend every session or be part of every conversation. There’s a constant shifting nature to the space and the people, it’s hard to pin down any element of this experience. Much like the Soča river, we are all flowing through PIF with a few things to slow us down here and there but ultimately there’s nothing to stop the passage of time and the days slipping away. 

There’s only a few days left and yet many are still in the middling stages of their projects, still embracing all the parts of each day, letting things happen and letting themselves be part of it. 

PIF is a magical place, it holds you close for a week of time and then sits with you beyond that. It will change how to approach your endeavours, what you consider to be success and failure, how you connect with others. It’s important to bask in every second, or else you might just miss out on the magic. 

Text by PIFparticipant Sid Drmay, photos by Katja Goljat.

First PIFimpressions by Sid Drmay

This is my first time at PIFcamp after years of hearing about it from friends who have been. Every time I heard about it felt like a far off idea, a concept of something that sounded neat but seemed near impossible to actually get to.

Turns out it IS very possible to get here, it just involves a little bit of planning. This year I’m one of two people who travelled from North America, a longer journey than most here. I took two planes and three buses, plus a 20 minute walk when one driver insisted that we get off at the wrong stop.

The Soča Valley cannot really be described. This area is so incredibly unique and beautiful in ways that I couldn’t really imagine before being here. Photos are nice but there’s something very special about the feeling of this place that must be experienced. 

PIF is contained between massive mountains with a gorgeous turquoise river running through it. The main space is a house that houses half the group at night for sleeping, the kitchen, some bathrooms and a few rooms of supplies.
A short walk over leads to the school where the other half of participants sleep at night.

During the days, next to no one is inside unless they need to be. 

We spend most of our time outside at tables set up with far too many power bars, and everyone is constantly tinkering. Soldering irons are always hot, the temporary wifi is straining to keep up with the amount of users, and field recorders are aimed at every little sound that exists out here.

Leading up to camp I read up on other people’s projects ideas and felt a massive amount of imposter’s syndrome and intimidation. Everyone is extremely good at what they do. Everyone has specified knowledge in different areas that I do not. Everyone is really fucking cool.

Being at camp, I feel very lucky. The intimidation and imposter’s syndrome melts instantly when confronted with the reality that everyone here is actually just a huge dork about the thing they love and they want to share it. Isn’t it such a cool thing to be around people who are so curious and ambitious? What is better than spending time with people who are so willing to share what they know, sit with you and explain how their specific ideas come together? 

It’s been two days and I’m soaking in every second of being in the space. I’m looking forward to everything I’m going to get to learn, and already very thankful for the time spent listening to talks, sitting around a makeshift table in a field drinking coffee, participating in workshops and even sweeping the floors to make sure things are comfortable for everybody. It’s a beautiful thing to build with one another. 

Text by PIFparticipant Sid Drmay, photos by Katja Goljat.

The Week Plays Itself

A sonic study of a temporary ecosystem

Dmitry Surugin, also known as Van Sur Les, is an Amsterdam-based composer and producer working across electronic music, theatre and narrative sound. His background in renewable energy and sustainable technology shapes his interest in how people, landscapes and technological systems interact.

For seven days, PIFcamp becomes a temporary ecosystem of nature, people and technology. Dmitry will collect sounds from the Soča River and surrounding forest, the stories people carry with them, and the hidden voices of the machines they build. Using Ableton, Norns scripts and Max for Live devices, he will shape these recordings into an evolving sound piece. Sounds and environmental data gathered during the week may also become control signals, influencing the sequencing, texture, spectral character and balance between the sonic layers.

The project plays with the fluid roles of composer, performer and instrument. Dmitry chooses the material and sets the rules, while natural processes influence how it is arranged and transformed. Nature would not remain a passive subject of the recording: its own rhythms and cycles would influence how the music unfolds.

The outcome may become a listening session, a live piece or a sonic diary. Other participants are welcome to contribute recordings, voices, musical gestures, unusual sounds or environmental data.

Kombucha Computing

Lea Binsfled is fascinated by fungi and microorganisms and excited about every moment they teach us something new. In the past, she has grown molds and mushrooms to include in the process that guides her design work and artistic projects. Currently, she is learning about fermentation and making a lot of kombucha. At PIFcamp, she’d like to explore how kombucha cultures can be used in creative work, computing or creative computing. How can we use kombucha leather to build de-composable server cases? Could a dried SCOBY mat be used to replace a printed circuit board? Can we get electricity from the fungi and bacteria that are mingling in an active culture? How could we use the heat emitted by our computers to boost our home made ferments in the cold seasons? There is no clear plan for an activity yet, but a lot of openness for sharing ideas and bubbly drinks.

Eat Your Words

Fransisca’s year #4 at PIFcamp will go like this: Come by to experiment, chat or document together! Whether it is a sensory meditation, a spontaneous taste test, fermenting session, or a casual conversation about food and life. Everyone is welcome to partake, play and create!

Fransisca is a food experience designer and artist, she uses food as a multisensory canvas to explore community and ecosystem thinking.

Photo by Katja Goljat.

What is Vodolivka?

Boštjan Čadež aka FŠK explains it like this:

Vodolivka is a low-cost automated system for watering up to 16 plants, each on its own schedule. It’s my second attempt at solving this problem.

The usual way to build something like this is with one solenoid valve per output. They work, but they get expensive at 16 channels, they need more electronics to drive them, and in my experience, they don’t always close reliably, which is a real problem when a leak means an overwatered plant or an empty tank.

So Vodolivka tries a different approach. The 16 lines run through 3D-printed pinch valves arranged in a circle, each squeezed closed by default. In the middle sits a stepper motor with an arm that rotates to point at any one of them, pushing that valve open while the rest stay shut. One motor operates all sixteen valves instead of sixteen solenoids.

The rest is straightforward: an ESP32 for the brains, a DC pump to move the water, and a flow sensor that confirms water is actually moving, so the system can tell if the tank is empty or the pump has failed rather than quietly watering nothing. Everything is configured through a web interface served from the ESP32 itself, where you set the amount and interval for each output. No app, no cloud.

It’s still very much a plan rather than a proven system. The whole point is to find out whether one cheap actuator and some clever geometry can do the job more reliably than a pile of solenoids. That’s the experiment. And if it works, I won’t have to bother my friends to water my plants next year. ;)

Two Ways to Make Sounds

One project by Thomas Gibbs explores a new approach to making sound from 2D data. Past approaches either yield rather noisy unwieldy audio and/or a dense frequency spectrum. The engine he is currently building can create more predictable oscillators. They can be controlled via MIDI or OSC and could work nicely in live coding environments.

The other project explores the synthesis of insect sounds. Many sounds in sound synthesis are constructed from idealised, mathematical building blocks like sine waves or delay lines. This creates a certain timbre. Insects on the other hand produce sounds often using mechanical approaches, thus incorporating imperfections in their waveforms. Thomas aims to explore these imperfect audio synthesis paths.

Thomas Gibbs spens too much time with technology and now tries to make machines behave themselves.