“Keep out” by The C6 collective
Life these days is mediated by our smartphones and social media. The documenting and sharing of our experiences has become the capital of the platform. Through this constant interaction these market places learn a lot about us, our likes, dislikes, purchases and politics, making us targets that they can sell advertising to.
Of course it doesn’t stop there…Society is a diverse mix of opinions, wants, needs and goals with social media platforms often acting like an accelerant in a house fire. The conventions of real world reticence of seeming extreme, or rude, dissipate in these echo chambers of niche opinion.
Sold to us a tool for connection with our fellow humans, they have become a dealer in capital, a speed of exchange that benefits all but the user.
With “Keep out” C6 wishes to explore the methodology of these tactics and make a parallel between the worlds of meth amphetamine and social media, inspired in part by the rabid rise of companies like Meta, whose name was the inspiration for this artwork.
Free Workshop
Of course C6 is an anonymous art collective, not a group of social scientists, so rather than a research based dry academic paper based on the evils of social media we have created an art installation.
We are taught that drugs and their consequences are a path to be avoided, that will lead to despair and misery. The dangers of social media and their “like addiction” are only now being discussed and are unfortunately not understood by the generation above us who advised wisely on possible dangers life could present.
As artists we can see those that attend gallery shows with the ever present smartphones held aloft in front of works from centuries gone by . Of course these works cannot address the dynamics in the room they now occupy. But we can.
Metha Lab
Keep out is an interactive exhibit resembling a Meth lab, a situation we have all learnt about through the television series Breaking bad. It’s a place to be avoided, definitely with your phone in your hand!
The installation has a series of sensors and cameras that detect the viewer and enable them to interact with the exhibit. Cctv cameras are placed on each corner of the trailer and broadcast those that view it online via our website https://c6.dotmaster.co.uk/ The website contextualises the work and is available through QR tags stencils sprayed around it. A back interactive panel (at the rear of the exhibit) allows the audience to play with the various systems. A chance to join a rogues gallery of users is captured by a camera and added to a wanted poster that is posted to the site and is available for download and can be subsequently shared on a social media platform of their choice . Other buttons in the interface allow the viewer to jam with the storm (controlling the flashes of lightning and thunder soundtrack. Or play a random song to accompany the installation.
The cloud above the trailer has an invitation to advertise in that space and directs the public to a local french telephone number which results in a conventional answer machine message. It is a corporate advert for the Metha lab and encourages the caller to leave a message (which again gets archived on the site).
