Behind the Feed is a three-channel video installation with suspended theatrical masks that explores
what genuine happiness is in a society saturated with advertisements and algorithmic feeds. Projected
on three walls, there are two unique projections, with one showing multiple figures. Each figure moves
across the projection while wearing laughing theatre masks and social media feeds within their bodies.
A pair of eyes looms over the figures, watching their every move. The other projection includes a large
theatre mask with advertisements playing within its boundaries, and, in addition, recordings of the
same feeds placed around the large mask. Within the centre of the room, there are four theatrical masks
—four theatrical masks occupy the centre of the room — three suspended from the ceiling at varying
heights Behind the Feed was created in Adobe After Effects to animate the loop and keylight, keying
out the green screen using masks and figures, while the feeds were recorded from Reddit, Facebook,
Instagram, and other popular social media platforms.
Entering the small room, the viewer encounters three projections on its north, east, and south walls.
Two walls are occupied by the same projection, showing multiple figures walking from left to right.
Each figure wears a laughing theatrical mask, with compressed recordings of scrolling through social
media feeds from Reddit, Facebook, and Instagram. A pair of eyes looms over the figures as they move
left, riding in a continuous windshield loop that watches over them. The other projection shows a large
theatrical mask with an advertisement playing within its boundaries. Surrounding the mask are 6 videos
on each side, showing social media scrolling. Within the centre of the room, in a straight line, there are
four theatrical masks. Three of the four masks are suspended from the ceiling in varying heights, while
the last theatre sits on the floor, broken. The work draws comparisons to Bruce Nauman’s Clown
Torture, which uses the perpetual repetition of the clown’s absurd journey to exert psychological
pressure on the viewer, as if they are locked in a loop. In addition to Bruce Nauman’s work, there is
Nam June Plak’s TV Buddha, which deals with the relationship between the figure and its mediated
image.
As a continuation of one of my old art projects from the Fall of 2025, I began further research into
experiences of perceived judgment in public spaces. I stumbled upon articles related to my previous
primary research on Michel Foucault’s analysis of modern disciplinary power in Discipline and Punish,
in which he argues that modern surveillance is most effective when internalized rather than enforced by
a visible authority.A particular argument is Sara Ahmed’s claim that happiness is not a neutral
personal feeling but a political instrument—a means of enforcing social norms by directing people
toward prescribed life choices and casting those who resist as problems or threats. Further down the
rabbit hole, I encountered more arguments, such as Erving Goffman’s framing of social life as a
theatrical performance — in every interaction, we actively manage how we appear to others. In short,
Behind the Feed is developed on the philosophy that happiness, as we experience it, is not freely
chosen but socially engineered by institutional and corporate systems that prescribe emotional states
and punish those who don’t comply.
Behind the Feed was created for the show, “Amnesiac.” (Calgary, Canada), which was featured within
the Cloest Gallery at the Alberta University of the Arts (Calgary, Canada).
