The content of an interactive platform was created based on interviews with patients and employees of the hospital for the treatment of Internet and video games addiction. Their experiences of losing and regaining control of their behavior form a chatbot that connects the digital experience with physical and emotional reactions. Unexpected questions and instructions aim to raise awareness of the relationship between one’s own body and the environment, moments of interruption, and the discomfort caused by immersion in digital content. According to answers, the chatbot generates the way of addressing the participant, the length of the conversation, and the main topic of the conversation. Each conversation encompasses rising awareness of body parts, entertaining tasks, and the suggestion for a physical activity that implies leaving the digital device.
Reflecting upon the tactics of commercial platforms, solidarity is performed as a means of cohesion of heterogeneous, critical, virtual-somatic members.
Games and stitches is the gallery presentation of a collaborative research process that annuls the visual spectacle of the digital and shifts the focus to a slowed-down, physical experience. A chatbot, video game, and costumes become the main tools of emancipation of participants who take control of their own experience of the gamified everyday life. By abandoning the anticipated roles, becoming aware of physical sensations, and observing the environment beyond the boundaries of the screen, collective knowledge is created, one that enables a creative and autonomous consumption of digital culture.
Curated by Lovro Japundžić and Maja Pavlinić for Gallery GMK Zagreb.
Photo credits: Ive Trojanović
