Coming Close? -Techno-Culture and The Longings for Intimacy

How are longings for intimacy engendered in different ways in relation to technology use? How can alternative uses of consumer electronics make us more aware about the conditions for mediation and technology use? The presentation will reflect on a specific consumer electronics product called the Intenso Viddy, which is a cheap video messenger marketed as a lifestyle/mobility-gadget. With it’s inconspicuous technological features and its magnetic rear panel it is to be used as a video messenger/fridge magnet, and a mundane domestic social mediation device. Can this gadget be the point of departure to problematize some visions of capitalist media saturated societies? The presentation will be based on an oral presentation done in parallel with the screening of the video work Close to Nature, which was conceived by using the Viddy: (see: http://robertwillim.com/portfolio/transmutations-of-nature )