Where will we end up if we stay here #86
2022
Augmented reality
The project is a visual exploration of the phenomenon of digital-age information bubbles through the image of a virtual funnel ejecting digital particle-like fragments into space. This dynamic AR installation metaphorically embodies the process of consuming digital content, where each burst of particles represents a fragment of personalized information that shapes our individual media reality.
While physically remaining in familiar surroundings, modern humans are drawn into a continuous whirlwind of algorithmically curated data. Social networks, having abandoned chronological feeds in favor of personalized recommendations, have created a situation where each user exists in a unique informational cocoon—a kind of 'personal television' broadcasting only those messages to which the system has registered an emotional response.
The project raises provocative questions about the consequences of such an 'information diet': What happens to our perception of reality when we consume only easily digestible, predictable content? How does our thinking change when algorithms become the invisible curators of our worldview? The funnel in the installation symbolizes both the allure and the danger of this process—the mesmerizing beauty of digital particles contrasts with the awareness of their selective nature.
Augmented reality is a particularly fitting medium here—it literally overlays a digital layer onto physical space, replicating the very mechanism of blended realities that has become part of everyday life. The viewer, interacting with the installation through a device screen, becomes part of this process, simultaneously observing and participating in it.
This project does not offer ready-made answers but instead creates a space for reflection on how digital technologies are transforming not only our media habits but also the very mechanisms of our perception of reality. 'Where will our consciousness end up if our bodies remain here? '—this question becomes central to the work, inviting contemplation on the boundaries between physical and digital existence in the age of algorithmic media.
