Feelings Inc.
Feelings Inc. is coming to Rotterdam!!
4th December until 20th February
⏩️
Huidensclub, Rotterdam
⏩️
4th December until 20th February ⏩️ Huidensclub, Rotterdam ⏩️
Join us for the Vernissage
From 4 December 2024 till 20 February 2025 Privacy Salon and Huidenclub turn Huidenclub’s 1.600 sqm into Feelings Inc.: A two-and-a-half-month festival revolving around a multidisciplinary show curated by Thierry Vandenbussche and Ferre Vander Elst (Privacy Salon) around the theme of vulnerability in our digital age.
Multiple events will be organised around the central exhibition. 6 symposia days digging into themes like Dating apps, AI companionship and Human-Machine Intimacy, Multimedia (lecture) performances extending the art program with immersive experiences, interactive workshops by artists, researchers and collectives that activate the exhibition themes together with a diverse audience, a film program connected to IFFR 2025
The whole program will be free for everyone.
Organisation Details
Location:
Pelgrimsstraat 5c, 3029 BH, Rotterdam
Who:
www.huiden.club
www.privacysalon.org
www.privacytopia.org
—> a concept powered by Judith Zoë Blijden,
—> curated by Thierry Vandenbussche en Ferre Vander Elst
In collaboration with:
The Digital Period, Free University Brussel (Be), eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies - University Leiden, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Radboud University Nijmegen, Dating Privacy.
Exhibition Deatils
In the whirlwind of our digital age, dating apps are the modern-day matchmakers. These platforms promise to bridge the gap between solitude and companionship, guiding users to potential soulmates. Yet, beneath the playful swipes and messages lies a profound narrative of vulnerability. As we open our hearts to strangers through screens, we step into a space where authenticity and exposure coexist.
Data collection and pattern recognition shape our experiences not only in dating apps. Every click and interaction feeds into algorithms that predict our desires and actions. This pervasive quantification exposes our inherent vulnerabilities, as our behaviors are continually influenced and manipulated by unseen forces.
Fundamental rights in the digital realm, and indeed also European data protection law, highlight this by recognising that we are all potential subjects of exploitation, our digital footprints leaving us susceptible to various forms of influence and control. We are all vulnerable to today's ubiquitous data processing.
Algorithms wield immense power in shaping our digital interactions. They offer delightful discoveries, such as Spotify’s Discover Weekly, but can also exploit our vulnerabilities, nudging us towards choices that may not align with our fundamental rights.
Feelings Inc. delves into the delicate interplay of vulnerability and connection in online matchmaking and beyond. The project does not take an explicit position for or against the right or possibility to have a certain emotional relationship with a non-human (machine). Rather, she tries to form an opinion about the possible polarizing effects that this could trigger. It attempts to understand the meaning and implications of individualization that is developed through exponential usage and normalization of non-human (machine) relationships. The focus extends beyond dating apps to include embodied AI chatbots like Replika, where people fall in love with an avatar created by Luka inc. and experience emotional loss when the newest update caused a data loss...
The project invites an audience to explore the multifaceted nature of vulnerability through exhibitions, symposia, and workshops.
Each segment challenges visitors to reflect on their own digital interactions and the inherent vulnerabilities they bring to light.
Join us in this journey as we seek to foster a deeper understanding of our digital selves and the balance between connection and vulnerability through art, discussion, and interactive experiences.