Somerset House

24/7 Wake Up Call Four Our Non-Stop World

The first exhibition we had a look at explored the obsession humans have with technology, cameras, screens, social media and their phones. People are beginning to use every spare moment and opportunity to digitally connect or catch up with work. Technology was created to help make our lives easier, however, it has become increasingly alarming how attached we have become to this digital world, it almost makes us forget about our real one. The exhibition is inspired by Johnathan Cray's book '24/7'

One of the first main pieces of the exhibition was a 1782 painting (shown below) of a factory at night with windows glowing from light hinting at t people having to work straight through the night. This Highlights that our 24/7 society began with the industrialisation. 

Arkwright's Cotton Mills By Night,  

By Joseph Wright of Derby, 1782

Another piece that explored the insomnia that technology causes was of Rut Blees Luxemburg's. She photographed a tower block in east London from another building on the 16th floor using a large format camera and only ambient light. Luxemburg used an exposure of about 10 minutes. From this, she captured a still scene of people coming home and switching lights on and off, moving from room to room or just simply sat consumed by television with lights glaring of the walls. I particularly liked this piece as she documented a the impact of technology in a whole community in one shot. However, it also pulls a[art each individuals use of technology at the same time.

A Modern Project (Highrise)
By Ruth Luxemburg 1995

Nastja Säde Rönkkö's 6 Months Without (2018-2019) really stood out to me as she spent 6 months in the Somerset House Studios residency living and working without internet. In contrast, by 2018, 19% of Britons spent 40 hours of their week online. Everything from personal to professional, socialising and navigating happened offline. People had reached out to her through letters, phone calls or visits. Through doing so, she developed new and meaningful relationships and reclaimed her life as her own. 

Such a simple act of a handwritten letter seems far more personal. It's not a common form of communication today and texts are so fast and effective that the sincerity from written communication has completely disappeared. People are able to quickly send a text message almost without thinking. 

Some of the many letters sent to Rönkkö:

Also in the 24/7 exhibition was Harun Farocki's work of 12 tv's each showing a clip 11 decades (1895+). The film reveals the routine of workers as they clock out of work and merge in to social groups with other co-workers. In addition, I thought it was really interesting to see the development of technology and video quality throughout these 11 decades. Furthermore, in the footage you saw the huge change in the way we work and socialise at work; less communal work but more individual due to personal desks an offices. 

             

   Harun Farocki 

Workers Leaving the Factory in 11 Decades

2006

The exhibition was very eye opening as our lives are becoming so digitised making us constantly connected. The exhibition is a wake up call for our non-stop worlds. People often begin their day by looking at a phone screen, meander the day through majorly surveilled society and end it with looking at a phone screen before bed. We forget to look at the details of our day and the small moments we miss as our minds are some where else.