The Alien Between us
(2025)
author(s): Laura A Dima
published in: Research Catalogue
This thesis, The Alien Between Us, explores the intersection of touch, technology, and human connection through interactive installations designed to foster intimacy, empathy, and ethical engagement. Rooted in a technofeminist framework, the research examines how mediated interactions can challenge power dynamics, reimagine consent, and empower marginalised groups. Drawing on psychoanalysis, affect theory, and feminist philosophy, the work investigates the triadic model of the Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real, as proposed by Jacques Lacan, to analyse human-machine relations and embodied communication.
The installation utilises haptic technologies to create symbolic connections between participants, obscuring identity and gender biases while emphasising bodily empathy and mutual care. Through wearable sculptures and mediated touch, participants engage in spontaneous, fluid interactions that reveal new possibilities for connection and self-awareness. The thesis also critically reflects on the ethical implications of technology, addressing its potential for empowerment as well as its dangers, such as reinforcing societal inequalities.
By integrating personal experiences, artistic practice, and scientific research, the thesis proposes a model of interaction that equalises power dynamics, protects against abuse, and promotes responsibility. It envisions technology not as a tool for exploitation but as a medium for fostering meaningful, inclusive relationships between humans and non-human agents. Ultimately, The Alien Between Us seeks to heal our relationship with technology and the body, offering a vision of a more equitable and empathetic future.
Scylla’s Opulent Noise Generator (S.O.N.G.)
(last edited: 2024)
author(s): Scylla’s Opulent Noise Generator (S.O.N.G.)
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Scylla’s Opulent Noise Generator (S.O.N.G.) is a collective of multi-disciplinary artists living and working in different time zones. S.O.N.G. believes in collectivity to build worlds and imagine art for the future. SONG’s core members are Rut Karin Zettergren (FI), Choterina Freer (U.K.) and Anna Kinbom (SE).With three core members, they regularly expand the framework: inviting multiple artists into their polymorphic practice.
S.O.N.G.’s art practice takes many forms such as: collective drawing and writings; video installations; game creation; performances; seminars; and rituals. Past exhibitions and performances include BFI London Film Festival, Woven Places, AR-exhibition by Swedish Art Associations, Futureless Festival in Stockholm, Tallinn Feminist Forum, and Work Hard! Play Hard! Minsk. With 0s+1s Collective (2013-19) which focus was cyberfeminism they exhibited in Casa Victor Hugo, Cuba, Södertälje konsthall, Göteborgs konsthall and Gotlands Konstmuseum.