Created by Martina Pizzigoni and Alessia Fallica, “I died on Facebook” explores the limits between the real and the virtual, through the notion of death. The two artists raise a question: what happens to our virtual self when we die in the physical world? Do we continue to live indefinitely in the virtual world? Their installation will be exhibited at the 7th edition of the Recto VRso festival on April 11-14, 2024.
Do we continue to live virtually?
“I died on Facebook” is a virtual reality installation that explores the relationship between technology, identity and mortality. The two artists, Martina Pizzigoni and Alessia Fallica, explore the notion of the ‘virtual self’. In an increasingly digital world, with the emergence of the metaverse and the development of immersive environments, even death incorporates the virtual. The most obvious example is the existence of memorialized accounts on social network Facebook. These are virtual places of remembrance, created by loved ones when someone dies.
With this artwork, the two artists raise a number of questions: what happens to our virtual selves when we die in the physical world? Do we continue to exist indefinitely in the virtual world? In this artwork, death becomes a game. Participants find themselves in a cemetery, in a pixelated graphic universe, with virtual tombs all around them. “This digital graveyard becomes an interactive space, challenging the conventional notions of death and identity“, explain the two artists. The names on the graves are those of people in the real world, collected from commemorative profiles using a Python coded Facebook scraper.
Playing with death
“I died on Facebook” was conceived as a game. Martina and Alessia make extensive use of interaction as a medium in their installations. This new work is no exception. There are two ways of taking part in the game: remotely online or on site using a VR headset. Remotely, the work is shared in an open, collaborative and community universe (the Minecraft platform), where several players can interact. On site, participants are both observers and actors, as they can also interact with the virtual environment.
With this installation, the two artists have created a symbolic space where the temporality of the deceased exists in a universe separate from our physical understanding of time. In this digital age, we focus more on what we do online. “Art is our medium to shake consciences and make people think about modernity“, say Martina and Alessia. The two artists want to denounce the “digital overload“, more specifically the consequences of the priority we give to our virtual identity. “I died on Facebook” will be exhibited at the Art&VR Gallery during the next edition of the Recto VRso festival on April 11-14, 2024.
