Martina Pizzigoni
Crédits photos : This interactive installation generates a digital avatar from the personal data of Internet users.
In a groundbreaking interactive installation, multimedia artist Martina Pizzigoni takes us into a confrontation with our virtual selves. By creating an avatar from the personal data of thousands of Internet users, they aim to show how digital technology has changed our daily lives and the construction of our identity. Martina Pizzigoni’s digital artwork is part of the official selection for the 2025 edition of the Recto VRso immersive art festival.
Digital identity vs. real existence
Martina Pizzigoni is a multimedia artist. Originally from Italy, they now live and work in Austria, where they create interactive experiences. Their research explores the social context of our digitally-dominated society. They already presented their work at the Recto VRso festival last year, with the artistic duo they form with Alessia Fallica. Their digital work “I died on Facebook” addressed the notion of the virtual self, and raised the question of its existence after our death in the real world.
Martina Pizzigoni returns to the festival solo this year, to present their new interactive installation, “(Very) Neural System”, whose first prototype was exhibited in 2024 at the Elektron Festival in Luxembourg. In this work, Martina questions the construction of our identity in a society that is becoming a slave to digital technology.
Since the dawn of time, our identity has been shaped by our environment and the standards imposed on us. Today, we spend more and more time online, and this has an impact on our identity and behavior. « behaviours. Individuals are unconsciously developing a technological intimacy and dependence on digital devices », explained Martina. « The commodification of life experiences has become a prominent feature of the digital age, profoundly affecting our interactions and perceptions. »
Does our personal data really represent us?
To create this installation, Martina Pizzigoni used personal data collected by major companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook. They had already used this process with “I died on Facebook”, using commemorative accounts created on the social network and dedicated to real deceased people. Here, the artist has used this data to nourish the knowledge of a digital avatar.
The participant stands in front of a screen displaying the avatar, with whom they can interact. Several technologies are mobilized to make this dialogue possible: generative AI analyzes the spectator’s sentences, captured by voice recognition, and generates the avatar’s responses. Audio-face synchronization animates the avatar’s lips to match its words, while motion sensors reproduce the participant’s gestures. The result is a dystopian avatar, at once disturbing and familiar.
With this artwork, Martina Pizzigoni wants to show that our data can easily be manipulated to create an altered and distorted version of our virtual selves, and therefore of ourselves. « It deeply mirrors our contemporary society, where our identities are continuously remixed and reworked through algorithms that absorb and redistribute data. » Discover “(Very) Neural System” at the Recto VRso festival on April 10-13, 2025.
