Katriona Beales

“Dopamine is the metaphor of our age,” says Geert Lovink in ‘Sad by Design’ (2019). We seek instant gratification. Online shopping fulfills our wildest and most superficial desires in a few clicks. Not only by buying (useless) stuff, but also in finding attention, likes, and, when we are completely overstimulated, in finding peace with mindfulness, yoga, or completely ‘off the Wi-Fi grid’ in nature. Disrupt and Reflect examines the economies behind the internet where our short-term needs are constantly being triggered and our impulse control is constantly being tested. Attention is the answer to all things.

Disrupt and Reflect is a web project that is alternately extremely over-stimulating and sometimes very calming. It is a collection of creative and critical reflections in which, at different tempos, the viewer becomes part of the mechanisms of acceleration and stillness as they are currently occurring in our digital society. The online project consists of talks and artist presentations by contributors With contributions by: Anxious to Make (Emily & Liat), Dr. Vanessa Bartlett, Katriona Beales, Roos Groothuizen, Dasha Ilina, Annika Kappner, Dr. Gerald Moore and Pinar Yoldas., accompanied by video interviews with the participants. 

Disrupt & Reflect is a collaborative project between curator Nadine Roestenburg, IMPAKT Centre for Media Culture in Utrecht and the research track Post-Digital Cultures at Fontys University of Applied Sciences.