In an age of post truth and “uber-information”, where information is too easily accessible; there is too much noise, too many distractions, too much content and outlets that not only satisfies but also breeds instant gratification. Our focus and attention, in this contemporary context, become prized commodities, as we lose focus on what really matters and lack attention for the nuanced and meaningful. We propose a wearable MacGuffin, a future technological artifact that will need to exist based on this trajectory, a reactive solution to reclaim and purposefully use our precious and finite attention.
Worn like a crown in our waking hours, this information filtration device sits on the symbolic location of our Third Eye and allows for customizable filters to be physically inserted to block out categories of information like, relentless (but very cute) cat videos, emotional-porn advertisements and “10 Things You Never Knew” lists, amongst a very wide selection.
Wouldn’t it be great to filter the useless and the futile, to instead amplify what really matters, bringing them back into the foreground, a physical device requiring physical manipulations to help us to focus on ourselves, our deep needs, our bodies?
We need to take back control over our information diets now!
TALISMAN – Contemporary Symbolic Objects
To celebrate its tenth anniversary, IN Residence – the cultural project invented and curated by Barbara Brondi & Marco Rainò – organizes the group exhibition “TALISMAN – Contemporary Symbolic Objects.” Charged with the task of spreading positive portents and bringing good luck, the Talisman – in the guise of a small object activated by a specific liturgical formula – is a concentrate of mythology and folk beliefs, a precious and enigmatic artifact that across the ages has interpreted and represented distinct visions of a secular and/or magical rituality that thrives on the ordinary and the extraordinary. Seen as the alter ego of the desire of its creator, the Talisman weds its essence to the identity of its owner, playing the role of avatar of a precise, presumed power that is projected into the world.
