Exhibition explores relationship with digital culture
Exhibition explores relationship with digital culture
“Kayla Mattes: DOOMSCROLLING,” on view until Aug. 18, 2024, unravels the ephemeral concepts that keep us stuck to the web.
May 18, 2024How often do you catch yourself going down an internet rabbit hole?
California-based artist Kayla Mattes explores the ephemeral concepts that keep us stuck to the web: memes, gifs, TikToks, apps and the quest for information to our most burning questions. Through a playful and humorous — yet critical — lens, the exhibition presents different musings using handmade weaving to unravel our addiction and explore our relationship with digital culture.
Though we might think of them as opposites, the underlying logic of computers and technology traces its roots to analog processes of making — like weaving. This relationship is formative to Mattes’ work and is why she explores the digital sphere through weaving.
“I’m thrilled to collaborate with Mattes,” said MSU Broad Art Museum Assistant Curator Rachel Winter. “The joy and humor in her work provide both a moment of respite from daily life and a way to think through existential questions. Most of the works featured in the exhibition were created specifically for “DOOMSCROLLING,” and I hope visitors look closely at the many details that make up these handmade weavings.”
Through Mattes’ work, weaving invites us to slow down and look closely — actions that feel counterintuitive to the hurried pace of the internet and our lives. Moments of humor are embedded in her tapestries, which help us respond to pressing existential questions about technology and the current state of the world. The artist asks us to stop doomscrolling, look closely and rethink the way the digital sphere shapes our daily lives.
Contributing Writer(s): Alex Tekip & Zoe Kissel
