Stacey Arkhipova

UP-CLOSE

video, audio, CRT TV

“I constantly document myself through writing, photographs, video and audio recordings — most of those are stored on my phone. When someone touches my phone it feels uncomfortable and invasive. Many of us have developed an intimate relationship with a fundamentally non-intimate device. The interrelation of intimacy and technology is obvious now that technology pervades every aspect of our lives. Sometimes I forget that my phone is not an entirely secure and exclusively private object.I used a digital microscope to trace my body, head to toe. The extreme zoom hints at the desire to see myself closely through self-documentation and to imagine how I’m being perceived by others. The visual quality of the recording is raw and uncomfortably detailed. The imagery looks vaguely erotic and borderline gruesome at the same time. Displaying the footage on a TV screen addresses the non-confidential reality of self-documentation using digital devices. Anything can become public. I used a CRT TV to remind the viewer of a time, not too long ago, when technology didn’t feel like a compact extension of our bodies. Placing the TV in a public space while playing the recording of my body speaks to the desire to be seen while recognizing the fear of being seen in full. Documenting my own body feels private, but the extreme magnification makes it appear impersonal — it has no specific indicators of who the owner of this body is, thus it could belong to anyone. I want to be perceived as unique yet I blend into the crowd, just like everyone else — just flesh and bones. Just atoms. The artwork is critical of itself, it attempts to regain control over self-exposure but also recognizes the monotony of mass self-documentation. ”