COLLIDING HUMANS - Social Interaction on the Internet

About

Artists: Jonas Blume, Manja Ebert, Aron Lesnik, Lauren Moffatt

Curated by Tina Sauerlaender and Peggy Schoenegge (peer to space)

Organized by medienkunst e.V. – Verein für zeitgenössische Kunst mit neuen Medien

Opening: September 27, 2019, 7 pm  

Duration: September 28 to October 6, 2019

Artist Talk: October 2, 2019, 7 pm (With the curator Peggy Schoenegge and the participating artists)

At: Raum für drastische Maßnahmen, Oderstraße 34, 10247 Berlin, Germany

"Good relationships make us happier and healthier." That is the conclusion of two Harvard studies that spent 75 years researching with over 600 people what makes people really happy. But what happens to our relationships when we communicate mostly over the Internet?

Online communication bridges physical distances and connects us. We can easily send messages across continents and get an answer within a few seconds. However, the physical vis-à-vis is missing. The other's body, facial expressions and gestures are no longer part of interpersonal exchange. We are alone with the screen while interacting socially. Like a mirror, the screen echoes us back at ourselves. We share our space only with our own view of the world, while that of others remains out of sight. This one-sided perception can lead to a loss of empathy and – in the end – to disrespectful, hateful comments. As soon as we publish personal information on the Internet, we are exposed to the scrutiny of others, and on the other hand we are free to scrutinize in return.  

The works presented in the exhibition deal with various forms of social interaction on the Internet. Users stream themselves asleep and let others like them. Avatars in video games expose themselves to the violence of fellow players in virtual space. Hate speakers flee into isolation and let their frustration run free online. Others create a world populated by specially designed avatars.

Read the full text here.

The exhibition is a cooperation between Raum für drastische Maßnahmen, peer to space, and medienkunst e.V..

Kindly supported by OBC Original Berliner Cidre