Seeing I
Lecture
Seeing I, 2020: For 24-hours a day, for 14-days, artist Mark Farid will wear a virtual reality headset, experiencing life through the eyes and ears of one person; hearing only what they hear and seeing only what they see for two weeks.
Inspired by Psychologist Philip Zimbardo’s ‘Stanford Prison Experiment’ (1971), Philosopher Jean Baudrillard’s ‘Simulacra and Simulation’ (1981), and Artist Josh Harris’ ‘Quiet: We Live in Public’ (1999), Seeing I will confine Farid to a gallery space, subject to the simulated life of the project’s Other. With no existing relationship to the Other, how will the constant stream of artificial sights and sounds start to displace Farid’s own internal monologue? For the duration of the project, Farid will experience no human interaction relative to his own life, allowing his indirect relationship with the Other to become his leading narrative.
Adapting the question of nature vs. nurture to the digital age, Seeing I will consider how large a portion of the individual is an inherent self, and how large a portion is a consequence of environment and culture. How will the 14-days alter Farid’s movement, mannerisms, personality, and most importantly, his rationale? Without free will to determine and shape who he is, will Farid’s consciousness be enough to deter significant change?
In his talk, Mark will present the project’s conceptual threads, ethical concerns and technological aspects including different (artistic) strategies, approaches and methods he uses in his practice. Moreover, Mark will present the trial run of Seeing I which took place at this year’s Ars Electronica in Linz and its further implications.
Mark Farid, Seeing I, 2016Workshop
Artist Mark Farid will be giving an informal talk about his projects Data Shadow (2015) and Poisonous Antidote (2016), both of which centered around data privacy and respective government laws. The talk will involve a small demonstration about data privacy that will involve all willing audience members, and will also discuss steps Mark took in the development of his practice, from his first year in university to graduating.
Mark Farid is an artist, producer and speaker, who examines the formation of our projected-self, and how our constructed identity is shaped by societal expectations. He graduated from Kingston University, London, with a First Class (Hons) degree in Fine Art in 2014, and has since given talks and participated in group and solo exhibitions in England, France, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, UAE, and Japan. Farid gave a TEDx talk in 2017 about his first two projects, Data Shadow (2015), and Poisonous Antidote (2016), and took part in the Sundance New Frontier program, 2016, for an on-going project, Seeing I (2020). A 7-day pilot of Seeing I was exhibited at Ars Electronica Digital Arts Festival, 2019. Farid has appeared on Sky News, Fox News, BBC Radio 4, the Guardian, the Independent, the New Statesman, and has written about his work for the Telegraph.
