Blinding Pleasures February 10th – March 18th | Private View February 10th 6pm-9pm | Exhibi>on open Thurs-Sat 12-6pm Angela Washko, Benjamin Grosser, Man BartleN / curated by Filippo Lorenzin arebyte Gallery is pleased to present Blinding Pleasures, the first show launching its 2017 programme focusing on the theme of Control. The group exhibi>on Blinding Pleasures, curated by Filippo Lorenzin, will study the dangers and poten>als of a conscious use of the mechanisms behind the False Consensus effect and its marke>ng-driven son, the so-called “Filter Bubble”. This project will be an occasion to reflect and ques>on these issues with the involvement of ar>sts, psychologists, lawyers, sociologists and communica>on experts. The mornings a]er both the Brexit vote and the 2016 U.S Presiden>al Elec>on, social media was used more than ever for sharing sadness, fear and even despera>on; people felt cheated, asking how it was possible that Brexit and Donald Trump won even though they saw on their social media feeds in the previous months that everyone was going to vote against them. The reality the social media channels perceived and the real and final outcome were too wide and deep. Blinding Pleasures will explore the reasons and the ways in which the False Consensus effect takes place on a daily basis, online and offline, due to the construc>on of environments only allowing persons to connect with people who share a similar opinion. Not paying aNen>on to signs that confound expecta>ons is one of the most important and subtle func>oning of human psyche; more o]en than not, it is an involuntary mechanism triggering out selfdefense. Marke>ng agencies and centres of power learnt how to master this bias for their interests. Shaping a public opinion doesn’t necessarily mean to filter the informa>on needed to control the extremely par>san communi>es blind to other opinions but rather, and foremost, to sharpen the differences among opposite groups giving birth to extreme partly blinded communi>es. Blinding Pleasures is an exhibi>on that reflects on how people can cri>cally take control over their inner psychological biases, disrup>ng the aNempts of being misled by those who detain power on the pladorms they use. Ul>mately, the exhibi>on ques>ons the means in which one retains control over these systems. Star>ng from a non social media related point of view, the exhibi>on explores the perks and troubles of behaving in an environment designed to keep people locked in it by exploi>ng their need to be socially accepted and reassured. Given the complexity of the topic, inquiry won’t be from a wholly nega>ve or posi>ve presump>on; it’ll be an opportunity to start a conversa>on aimed to collec>vely address subtle and influen>al psychological func>oning. arebyte Gallery | Charity # 1167185 arebyte 2 | LASER Gallery 49 White Post Lane | E9 5EN 2 Pear Tree Street | EC1V 3SB [email protected][email protected]
