WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON | Stefan Mildenberger

WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON
2014
162 Hand-guided scans
62 C-Prints auf Alu-Dibond, 52 x 35 cm
Performancevideo, HD, Colour, 16:9, 2 min 35 sec
Sound work, Stereo, 2 min 35 sec
(Smartphone, tablet, mobile hand scanner, computer, software, speakers, synthesizer, projector, screen)
Developer: Ulf Freyhoff

The series WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON explores the visual and material dimensions of digital media on mobile devices. It presents the results of an experimental scanning process, in which the screen of a smartphone is captured while displaying moving images.
For the experimental setup, a mobile hand scanner is moved across the smartphone display while it plays videos, computer games, films, dating profiles, chatrooms, television programs, and other digital content. By translating digital image data into physical scan traces, fragmented, distorted, and abstracted representations of the content are produced.
For the series, all types of data displayable on a smartphone were systematically selected and scanned. The spectrum ranges from interactive media to linear films, as well as social networks, communication platforms, and digital games. Through this comprehensive approach, the series reflects the variety, intensity, and acceleration of digital information flows, as well as the increasing mediatization of personal and public life.
The work offers an aesthetic perspective on everyday interactions with mobile devices: moving images are slowed down, fragmented, and rendered physically readable. At the same time, WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON questions the mediation of experience through media, the role of interfaces as the point of contact between users and the digital world, and the visual grammar of personal and public communication.

WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON
2014
162 Handgeführte Scans
162 C-Prints auf Alu-Dibond, 52 x 35 cm
Performancevideo, HD, Farbe, 16:9, 2 min 35 sec
Soundarbeit, Stereo, 2 min 35 sec
(Smartphone, Tablet, mobiler Hand-Scanner, Computer, Software, Lautsprecher,
Synthesizer, Beamer, Leinwand)
Entwickler: Ulf Freyhoff

Die Werkgruppe WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON untersucht die visuelle und materielle Dimension digitaler Medien auf mobilen Endgeräten. Sie zeigt die Ergebnisse eines experimentellen Scan-Prozesses, bei dem die Bildfläche eines Smartphone-Displays während der Darstellung bewegter Bilder erfasst wird.
Für den Versuchsaufbau wird ein mobiler Handscanner über die Displayfläche des Smartphones geführt, während dieses Videos, Computerspiele, Filme, Dating-Profile, Chatrooms, Fernsehprogramme und andere digitale Inhalte anzeigt. Durch die Übertragung der digitalen Bildinformationen in physische Scan-Spuren entstehen fragmentierte, verzerrte und abstrahierte Darstellungen der Inhalte.
Für die Serie WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON wurden sämtliche Formen von auf einem Smartphone darstellbaren Daten systematisch ausgewählt und eingescannt. Das Spektrum reicht von interaktiven Medien über lineare Filme bis hin zu sozialen Netzwerken, Kommunikationsplattformen und digitalen Spielen. Durch diese umfassende Herangehensweise reflektiert die Serie die Vielfalt, Intensität und Beschleunigung digitaler Informationsflüsse sowie die zunehmende Mediatisierung persönlicher und öffentlicher Lebenswelten.
Die Arbeit eröffnet eine ästhetische Perspektive auf den alltäglichen Umgang mit mobilen Geräten: Bewegte Bilder werden verlangsamt, fragmentiert und physisch lesbar gemacht. Gleichzeitig hinterfragt WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON die mediale Vermittlung von Erfahrung, die Rolle von Interfaces als Schnittstelle zwischen Nutzer:innen und digitaler Welt und die visuelle Grammatik persönlicher und öffentlicher Kommunikation.

WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON, 2014, performance view

WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON, 2014, installation view, tète, Berlin

WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON, 2014, installation view, Galerie Genscher Park, Hamburg

WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON, 2014, installation view, Galerie Genscher Park, Hamburg

WHAT IF YOUR SMARTPHONE IS ON, 2015, installation view, Kunstverein 2025, Hamburg

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