By Foteini Vergidou.
Humanity is now more connected than ever. The whole world can be perceived as a
single historical, economic and cultural unit. But connectivity doesn’t necessarily
mean harmony and individuals are becoming more disconnected from their selves
than ever before.
Everyday we are integrating more and more with the digital world, blurring the line
between what is virtual and what is real. This integration with technology has allowed
us to find new ways to augment ourselves, express our opinions and communicate
with others, giving new potential to what we can achieve.
What does it mean to remain human in the digital age and how do we construct our
image in the Internet era? In the Hysterophimia Pavilion for The Wrong Digital Art
Biennale 2019 - 2020, the concept of the image as we perceive it today is being
challenged and explored from different perspectives.
The exhibition attempts to examine through a variety of artworks our relation with our
self, our self-awareness and our need to leave behind us a legacy, our
hysterophemia. As a result we have the rise of selfie culture and the over production
& consumption of images. The exhibition also challenges the idea of the offline VS
the online representation of one’s self.
Though hysterophemia used to be a heroic and noble thing to aspire and pursue,
does it matter today, where everything is recorded, monitored and stored in Big Data
without our control and consent?
The rapid technological changes also form a norm that supports our constant sharing
of our image through online platforms. Our image needs to be constantly evolving, in
order to be relatable and updated to these fast changing social norms. Frequency is
the key, because it creates a sense of urgency that may lead to social anxiety and
trauma.
Last but not least, through this exhibition, we take a look not only on the images we
produce and consume, but also on the images created by machines. Big data that
portray us way better than a photographic lense and images created entirely by AI
algorithms, manifesting their own need for posthumous fame.
Participating artists:
Charlotte Eifler, Kyriaki Goni, For Cancel, Margarita Athanasiou, Jonas Lund, Erica
Lapadat-Jazen, Maria Judova and Constantine Nisidis, Yorgos Papafigos,
Shinseungback Kimyonghun, Spyros Aggelopoulos, Gertruda Gilyte and Kailum
Graves.
Curator: Foteini Vergidou
Opening: 01.11.2019
Duration: 01.11.2019 – 01.03.2020
Visit the exhibition: https://hysterophimia.net/
Part of The Wrong Digital Art Biennale
*Hysterophemia (tr. posthumous fame): Fame arising, occurring, or continuing after one's death. Hysterophemia is written here with an –i- to focus on the importance of self-awareness in the digital age.