Unfiltered
Tik-Tok and the emerging face of culture

New Media / Net based Installation

Unfiltered is an immersive net-based installation on digital accessibility, questioning its impact on public consciousness, visual aesthetics, and identity structures. It speculates on the role of technology and social platforms as tools of mass influence and positive social change.

With unprecedented and ever-increasing access to smartphones and the internet, digital hierarchies are being broken. Platforms like TikTok are the new town halls with 'influence' no longer restricted to the urban elite. In a country like India where class barriers have propagated exclusive silos of physical and digital spaces, a platform like TikTok has broken those boundaries, levelling the playing field. This has in turn enabled a new generation of content creators who exist outside urban echo chambers and has led to the creation of unique visual languages.

But what have the voices missing from mainstream been saying? Can positive social messaging lead to systemic change? Can complex ideas around gender, sexuality, identity, and social equity be understood and adopted through such platforms? Unfiltered poses these questions and more through the diverse voices of TikTok.

Unfiltered was made in collaboration with Swiss New Media artist Marc Lee. The net-based installation is localized for each country to reflect the voices and ideas being projected by the youth. The Project was Supported by The India Art Fair and Pro Helvetia New Delhi, St+art India Foundation, and SPACE10 [IDEO]

India Unfiltered: 3 Channel installation, New Delhi

Unfiltered is a 3-channel installation that creates an endless flow of rich videos and media reflecting the voices of youth. The premise of the installation came from a speculation that in a country like India, which now has the world's largest young population - a majority of which engages with such apps - can mass exposure to positive social messaging lead to systemic change?

The Left Channel is an aggregation of hashtags representing positive social change messages. For example: #stoprape, #helppoor, #stopacidattacks, #cleanindia, #stopbullying, #genderfluidity, and so on. The screen runs each hashtag for 2-5 minutes, showcasing its top videos. Each hashtag also has a question posed as a speculation on top of the video stream. On average, the total view count of these hashtags ranges from a few million to 2.5 billion.

The Center Channel showcases a curated selection representing unique mashups of aesthetics, innovative use of technology and the most viewed/top trending videos within the geography to give a snapshot of the region's sensibilities.

The Right Channel is a curated selection of users that create niche content that challenges societal norms. Often these users belong to or represent marginalised or fringe communities. Some themes are LGBTQI representation, innovative approaches to education, bodypositivity, anti ablesim etc.

India Unfiltered, New Delhi

Swiss Unfiltered, Zurich

Swiss Unfiltered, Kunstraum Walcheturm, Zurich

Swiss Unfiltered, Reithalle, St. Moritz

EXHIBITIONS:

CYFEST-15 International Media Art Festival, Institute for Contemporary Art, Yerevan, Armenia
Arab Media Lab, Marrakesh, Morocco
Hacking Identity - Dancing Diversity, European Capitals of Culture, Möllerei Esch,
Luxembourg
Swiss Media Art - Pax Art Awards, HEK (House of Electronic Arts), Basel, Switzerland
Infrastrukturen, Galerie für Gegenwartskunst E-Werk, Freiburg, Germany
Swiss Unfiltered, My home is my castle, Forum Schlossplatz, Aarau, Switzerland
Swiss Unfiltered Da Z Digital Culture Festival, Kunstraum Walcheturm and Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich, Switzerland
Games.Fights.Encounters, ONCURATING Project Space, Zurich, Switzerland
India Unfiltered, Palladium, Chennai, India
India Unfiltered, SPACE10, New Delhi, India