Event 3/3: Christina Yglesias Solo Exhibit

Event 3/3

Design Media Arts Graduate Solo Show

Artist: Christina Yglesias

Location: Broad Arts, EDA

Date: 2 May 2017

Time: 5:00 - 7:00pm

I attended a solo exhibit by Christina Yglesias entitled “u still up?” in which an open room with four large TV screens occupying two of the three walls features a different couple who engage in reciting text messages exchanged between the artist herself and a person who responded to an ad she posted on Craigslist. The artist also provided screenshots of the text exchanges so that the audience would be able to see the entire nature of the exchanges (i.e. dates and times sent, the writing style of each participant, etc.). These nature of these conversations was very casual, and yet extremely intriguing in that the participants talked about everything and yet nothing. There were a lot of personal details exchanged, the participants talked about themselves, their families, backgrounds, interests, etc.; yet ultimately, the conversations ended with one person simply never responding again.

The final piece of the exhibit was a phone number printed onto a plastic card. I texted “Hi” to the number, received a response back, and ultimately engaged in a brief conversation with the artist herself. I asked if this was an interactive portion of the exhibit, to which she commented that it was more an extension of the exhibit and that I was actually the first person to text her. I inquired about the inspiration behind her exhibit - Christina is interested in how technology affects the way we communicate with other people. Her observation was that “on one hand it gives people a sense of freedom/lack of self conscious \ But it also sometimes I think makes boundaries less clear.” I commented that I found her exhibit to be based on an incredibly intriguing concept because of the fact that I have experienced similar interactions in that, for example, if a guy asks for my number, we’ll begin to engage in conversation, have a feeble attempt at getting to know one another as best one can through a phone screen, and then eventually the conversation will peter off into a nothingness known in today’s social media world as “ghosting.” Ultimately, I noted that our conversation would most likely end the way her conversations from the exhibit and my conversations with others had ended. This exhibit is truly a commentary on how technology these days is so double-edged - on the one hand we have easy and immediate access to each other, yet on the other hand, it is that much easier to ignore people and put up walls.

Text messages exchanged with the artist, Christina Yglesias: 

I would recommend my classmates see this exhibit due to the fact that most of us can probably relate, on an extremely personal level, to the emotions and thoughts this exhibit, aptly titled “u still up?”, sought to evoke.

selfie of participation