The Nederlands Fotomuseum is proud to present Unwired, an exhibition of work by visual artist Jacqueline Hassink, to run from 20 January to 6 May 2018.
Unwired will confront viewers with our present-day addiction to mobile internet devices and remind them of the fundamental human need for inner peace. What does it mean to live without digital connectivity? Hassink was motivated to explore these questions by her own personal desire to escape the digital world. The exhibition and accompanying book are both being designed by Irma Boom.
Unwired: Unwired Landscapes and iPortrait
This exhibition unites two projects: Unwired Landscapes and iPortrait. To create Unwired Landscapes, Hassink roamed the world in search of ‘white spots’ (places without Internet or mobile phone coverage). Her quest took her not only to remote regions like the Japanese island of Yakushima, the Norwegian island Svalbard and the interior of Iceland, but also to a luxury digital detox spa in Baden Baden (Germany), where clients can reserve rooms deliberately screened off from the digital world.
In contrast to these ‘white spots’, Hassink photographed in the vast subway networks of cities like Shanghai, London, New York and Tokyo. She portrayed travellers so deeply engaged with their smartphones that they appear to be in another world. Hassink focuses on the emotions expressed by the passengers’ body language and by the interaction between their hands and the appliances. She calls this series iPortrait.
Exhibition ‘Unwired Jacqueline Hassink’
Nederlands Fotomuseum
Wilhelminakade 332, Rotterdam
January 20 until May 6, 2018
www.nederlandsfotomuseum.nl
www.white-spots.net
