Cultural-historical Thesis Work

Little by little, Internet and mobile technology seem to be subtly destroying the meaningfulness of interactions we have with others, disconnecting us from the world around us, and leading to a sense of isolation in today’s society. I wonder whether more electronic communication will mean less face-to-face conversations, and we’ll have generations of people who are more comfortable texting their friends than talking to them in person. Or is this the natural progression in a multimedia age, where technology has opened up new and exciting ways to communicate to friends and people around the world? In my thesis I would like to investigate how technology is changing the way that people connect and communicate with each other.

Creative Thesis Work

While researching for my written thesis, I came across some interesting experiments conducted by artists, scientists and psychologists. These inspired me to try and recreate similar reactions under studio conditions. Holding eye contact with another person can evoke many feelings which can be scary, especially when in today’s society we tend to repress our deepest emotions. I documented this project in a video of the encounter between the subjects during the time they look at each other in the eyes.