Eva & Franco Mattes (b. 1976, Brescia, Italy) are an Italian-American artist duo. In the early 1990s, they recognised that the nascent internet would play an increasingly influential role in shaping contemporary culture and began devoting their waking hours almost exclusively to exploring this new medium – its possibilities, pitfalls, and implications for the creation and dissemination of content – anticipating the internet’s fundamental insinuation into every aspect of life. Operating anonymously or under various pseudonyms – most notably 0100101110101101.org – they became central figures in the scene, and with classic works like Life Sharing (2000), they helped define the medium. Some of their most controversial works have even led to legal trouble, including the widely noted trial with Nike – which ended, unexpectedly, in the artists’ favour – the invention of the fictitious artist Darko Maver, and the deliberate spread of a computer virus at the Venice Biennale. Interventions such as these have contributed to their cult status, and their influence on younger generations of artists continues to grow. Eva & Franco Mattes live and work in New York and Milan.