“Bitsoil POPup Tax and Hack Campaign” by LarbitsSisters
Title:
- Bitsoil POPup Tax and Hack Campaign
Artist(s) and People Involved:
Exhibiting Artist(s):
Symposium:
Creation Year:
- 2018
Medium:
- Live feed
Artist Statement:
Bitsoil POPup Tax and Hack Campaign (2018) ran as a live feed directly from the New Media Gallery in Vancouver and was presented as part of ISEA2020 Online.
The feed features a talk between the artist duo LarbitsSisters (in Brussels, Belgium) and curators Joyce + Duggan together with special guests. This interactive work is part of the Currency Exhibition at New Media Gallery, September 2 – December 6. bitsoil.tax/campaig
An interactive, internet-based work, Bitsoil POPup Tax and Hack Campaign (2018) is a digital campaign with online and offline activity. It consists of multiple interactions between trolling social media bots on Twitter, in combination with an offline interactive installation functioning as a tool designed to restore fair balance to a digital economy known for its tendencies to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few big tech companies. The campaign claims a tax on user data collected by tax collector bots who mine data produced by Twitter users. As the bots interact with the Twitter user, a tweet with video pops up on the user’s account and redirects her to the online platform of the campaign. As the user joins the campaign, she chooses from several actions which will result in the redistribution of wealth and the promotion of fair value.
