Lakwena Maciver British, b. 1986
Older, Deeper, Wider, Higher Power - Facebook HQ, London, 2017
Leather on ripstop
Copyright The Artist
Commissioned by Facebook HQ, London This site-specific installation relates to the nature of social media as a cultural interface. It plays on the similarities between the consistent stream of information...
Commissioned by Facebook HQ, London
This site-specific installation relates to the nature of social media as a cultural interface.
It plays on the similarities between the consistent stream of information and data, which characterises the virtual environment of the social media wall, and the impact of physical advertising in the urban environment. What was historically an external body advertising a lifestyle to the individual has become individuals advertising their lifestyles to one another. The consequence is a culture of comparing and competing to convey the most appealing lifestyle. The ‘feed’ becomes all consuming.
By re-appropriating the repetitive, seductive and overwhelming nature of both the physical and the virtual stream, this installation seeks to infiltrate and interrupt this internalised and self-focused cycle of manufacture and consumption. The collaborative, collective process of constructing a wall covering is both cathartic and symbolic. The re-covered walls encourage the viewer to reach outside of her/himself to network with a higher power, beyond self, resulting in a more profound connection.
This site-specific installation relates to the nature of social media as a cultural interface.
It plays on the similarities between the consistent stream of information and data, which characterises the virtual environment of the social media wall, and the impact of physical advertising in the urban environment. What was historically an external body advertising a lifestyle to the individual has become individuals advertising their lifestyles to one another. The consequence is a culture of comparing and competing to convey the most appealing lifestyle. The ‘feed’ becomes all consuming.
By re-appropriating the repetitive, seductive and overwhelming nature of both the physical and the virtual stream, this installation seeks to infiltrate and interrupt this internalised and self-focused cycle of manufacture and consumption. The collaborative, collective process of constructing a wall covering is both cathartic and symbolic. The re-covered walls encourage the viewer to reach outside of her/himself to network with a higher power, beyond self, resulting in a more profound connection.