Xaromantor

2024, installation, UHD + HD videos looping, duration: variable, colour, sound, salvaged smartphones, salvaged PVC pipes, Poundland selfie sticks, power supply, charging cables

Exhibited at: Touch Glass, Lewisham Arthouse, London (2024); Bits & Bytes, New Glasgow Society, Glasgow (2024); Performance Machines, IB Art London, London (2024); Gradient Descent, Gossamer Fog, London (2024)

Videos

Influencers who create videos such as "Why You're Not Growing on Social Media" present themselves as experts of the algorithm, telling viewers the type of content they should produce. This guidance, often influenced by advertisers' desires, can limit creative expression, leading to formulaic and uninspired content. In Xaromantor, I intentionally follow and subvert their advice through misinterpretation.

The resulting videos are displayed on smartphones, their native environment. The installation features redundant phones mounted on mass-produced selfie sticks, fused with salvaged, tentacle-like PVC pipes. This assemblage materialises the often unseen consequences of digital content creation, bringing them starkly into the gallery space.