excerpt from one hundred swipes, 12.28.18 5:38pm
2018 - ongoing
single channel video installation
one hundred swipes, 12.28.18 5:38pm is a single-channel video and installation from Travis's series one hundred swipes, which captures moments in the endless flow of digital information to explore the pervasive influence of algorithmically curated content on our daily lives. Shot on VHS tape, this work takes the form of a performed “doomscrolling” session—a term from the late 2010s that describes compulsive scrolling through social media or news feeds. This practice embodies the fatigue and inertia experienced when consuming the relentless deluge of digital content, much of which is tailored to reinforce individual interests or anxieties through sophisticated personalization algorithms.
In this video, travis’s only objective is to swipe exactly one hundred times, capturing a snapshot of content that reflects a fleeting, algorithmically-generated digital moment—unique to a specific time, date, and user. The feed displayed is dictated by a personalization algorithm, making the combination of images and posts unrepeatable, a curated blend of culture, information, and influence frozen in time by the camera. As part of the ongoing one hundred swipes series, this work highlights the subtle power of algorithms in shaping narratives, behaviors, and perceptions at any moment, underscoring the irony that each “unique” feed is constructed within an algorithmically controlled framework. Collectively, the series documents the temporality of digital interactions while mirroring the repetitive and draining nature of doomscrolling itself.
By using VHS, the project draws a line between the current digital age and an earlier, analog landscape. The visual quality evokes a sense of distance from today’s high-definition screens, suggesting a distortion of memory that resonates with both personal and cultural nostalgia. This choice of medium blurs the boundary between past and present, grounding the digital experience in the aesthetic qualities of an older medium. one hundred swipes, 12.28.18 5:38pm thus serves as a commentary on the inconsistencies of memory as mediated through rapidly evolving technology, and on the recursive nature of new media that often emulates its predecessors. Through this juxtaposition, travis critiques the paradox of endless newness and inevitable obsolescence in our contemporary media landscape, inviting viewers to reflect on their own position within this cycle of digital consumption and temporal dissonance.
single channel video installation
one hundred swipes, 12.28.18 5:38pm is a single-channel video and installation from Travis's series one hundred swipes, which captures moments in the endless flow of digital information to explore the pervasive influence of algorithmically curated content on our daily lives. Shot on VHS tape, this work takes the form of a performed “doomscrolling” session—a term from the late 2010s that describes compulsive scrolling through social media or news feeds. This practice embodies the fatigue and inertia experienced when consuming the relentless deluge of digital content, much of which is tailored to reinforce individual interests or anxieties through sophisticated personalization algorithms.
In this video, travis’s only objective is to swipe exactly one hundred times, capturing a snapshot of content that reflects a fleeting, algorithmically-generated digital moment—unique to a specific time, date, and user. The feed displayed is dictated by a personalization algorithm, making the combination of images and posts unrepeatable, a curated blend of culture, information, and influence frozen in time by the camera. As part of the ongoing one hundred swipes series, this work highlights the subtle power of algorithms in shaping narratives, behaviors, and perceptions at any moment, underscoring the irony that each “unique” feed is constructed within an algorithmically controlled framework. Collectively, the series documents the temporality of digital interactions while mirroring the repetitive and draining nature of doomscrolling itself.
By using VHS, the project draws a line between the current digital age and an earlier, analog landscape. The visual quality evokes a sense of distance from today’s high-definition screens, suggesting a distortion of memory that resonates with both personal and cultural nostalgia. This choice of medium blurs the boundary between past and present, grounding the digital experience in the aesthetic qualities of an older medium. one hundred swipes, 12.28.18 5:38pm thus serves as a commentary on the inconsistencies of memory as mediated through rapidly evolving technology, and on the recursive nature of new media that often emulates its predecessors. Through this juxtaposition, travis critiques the paradox of endless newness and inevitable obsolescence in our contemporary media landscape, inviting viewers to reflect on their own position within this cycle of digital consumption and temporal dissonance.