loving_bytes — Nella Piatek

(I) the late-night helpless tiredness that made Xris, realise the cyclical, never-ending seduction of capitalism.

loving_bytes
Visual poetry
2024

loving_bytes is a more intimate and playful piece. It is a visual poem in three parts (a triptych) that delves into our emotional relationship with personal technology. The title loving_bytes refers both to affection and the digital bytes that constitute our devices. This work constitutes what I call “lamentations of a cyberbeing navigating existential crises”. It is a narrative of a cyberbeing ( a persona of mine) alone in a room with a beloved but ageing laptop, whose memory is nearing its end. The interactive component is subtle. Rather than a film or AR lens, loving_bytes engages the participant by breaking the fourth wall of digital intimacy; gazing back and saying, “Do you feel it too?”. The piece can be viewed as a digital one-way mirror, with the character looking into the black screen to converse with it. This black screen mirrors that image back to the viewer, making them part of an intimate conversation. We hear from a character that becomes acutely aware of their habits: the cyclical, never-ending seduction of the screen, the erotic, slightly toxic with the machine or even the tenderness they feel toward a device that has been their constant companion.

Oftentimes my works portray cyborgs navigating existential feelings or crises. I use the fictioning of myself, Xris, an alter ego or rather my digital appendage, to do so. Image (I) is the late-night helpless tiredness that made Xris, realise the cyclical, never-ending seduction of capitalism. Image (II) is flirtation, erotic, slightly toxic, of the human with the machine. A machine that is very much tied to that seductive capitalism. Image (III) is the response flirtation of the machine (done in the computer terminal) with the human. A sort of techno-witchcraftian seal of a bond. An acceptance of a condition and an attempt to foster an affectionate relationship with their devices.

(II) Flirtation, erotic, slightly toxic, of the human with the machine.
(III) the response flirtation of the machine (done in the computer terminal) with the human. A sort of techno-witchcraftian seal of a bond. An acceptance of a condition and an attempt to foster an affectionate relationship with their devices.