The screen’s potential for disruptive, emancipatory endeavours and for the circulation of genuine ideas is obscured by a deluge of empty content. Both in the installation and in reality, the constant updating of the screen keeps us stunned. The screen gives us access to everything, yet keeps us in chains.
"Monolith" by SpY. Photograph by Rubén P. Bescós.
Project description by SpY
The groundbreaking installation “Monolith” explores the present and future of our relation with screens and data using light, sound and context to unprecedented effect.
It was unveiled in Barcelona as part of Llum BCN Festival 2023, drawing a large stream of visitors and becoming instantly viral.
The piece pays homage to Kubrick’s classic film “2001”, and is presented as a metaphor of today’s pervasive screens. The screen is the magical mirror in which we build our personas, and where an ever larger part of our reality takes form. It has become integrated into our lives to an extent that, until fairly recently, was still unconceivable.
The screen’s potential for disruptive, emancipatory endeavours and for the circulation of genuine ideas is obscured by a deluge of empty content. We remain stunned by the constant updating of the screen. The screen gives us access to everything, yet keeps us in chains.
“Monolith” draws into question this new reality and the encroaching intrusion into our personal information. Are we already in the time when humans become data? How will we confront the integration of bodies and devices? Is this the last generation of humans who are not digitally transformed?
