“Yes/No/Maybe: Sense of Place and the Space In-Between” presented by Kachornnamsong
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Digital Reality and the Perception of Self
Presentation Title:
- Yes/No/Maybe: Sense of Place and the Space In-Between
Presenter(s):
Venue(s):
Abstract:
Technology has often been portrayed as an antagonist that alters the structure of humanity. On the other hand, new aspects of human behaviour are evolving with the help of new technology. They reflect the way we see ourselves in the world – a reflection of our desires. By looking into the technology as a mode of revealing (Heidegger 1954). This paper will explore the possibilities of technology and the change in our society as a source to understand the human being. The main finding will be in the area of digital and online communication. This is because the way Human Computer Interaction (HCI) has been constructed within digital media requires us to reach to the higher stage of abstraction in order to facilitate the tools. Furthermore, our state of being in the world has its own fluidity. It precludes us from thoroughly understanding the ontology of the physical world (Jacobsson 2000), the help from new communication structures in cyberspace, which somehow gives us a clear view towards our own behaviour.
Based on an idea that nature is constructed, not discovered (Haraway 1991), Yes / No / Maybe (2009) is an interactive installation of a social event, where online dating elements are transported into a physical setting. The displacement of virtuality into a physical setting is an attempt to dispense with the techno-utopian/dystopian view and a means to question the concept of humanity and its politics of space and place. Participants receive tags containing chips, which will transmit signals that will influence the color of light in the environment near them. The three fundamental principles of online dating (anonymity, declaring the level of interest, and the playful atmosphere) were used to create a virtual situation in a café environment in the Modern Art Museum, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
