designboom · Creativity & design

Art Installation Satirizes Bio-Tracking Technology

An art installation titled 'The Factory' by Ellinor Aurora Aasgaard and Zayne Armstrong, located in a former optician's shop in Dortmund, Germany, satirizes bio-tracking technology and contemporary capitalist dynamics.

The installation features a hybrid video, painting, and sculptural environment within a repurposed gym setting. It tells the story of a journalist investigating a FitWatch, a bio-tracking smartwatch that pushes users to achieve goals at any cost.

The space incorporates painted backdrops of historical artworks overlaid with contemporary elements like ziplocked smartphones, creating a temporal dissonance that reflects modern life.

Inflatable sculptures, inspired by Henry Moore's work, are positioned with fans, mimicking bodily movements and questioning the concept of the human form and its care in a constantly changing world.

A 30-minute animated film, 'Charli & The Factory,' follows the journalist's investigation into the FitWatch's harmful effects, revealing the hypocrisy of its creators and promoters.

The artists aim to explore themes of labor, the body, and how individuals function within current capitalist structures, questioning the pursuit of self-optimization.

The installation is part of the 'Uncanny Shifts' exhibition, curated to align with themes of neoliberalism and the transformation of people into machines, fitting the exhibition's focus on self-optimization and body culture.

AI-samenvatting op basis van de bron.