Vibe Check

Lauren Lee McCarthy & Kyle McDonald


six monitors each labeled with an emotion glee, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, contempt
woman looks at six monitors with insta-like overlays read "they make us feel..." various emotions
six monitors with insta-like zoom in effect overlays read they make us feel... various emotions
man walks by purple camera box in gallery while looking at art
six monitors with insta-like overlays read "they make us feel..." various emotions
red overlay on image reads "they make us feel disgusted
brown overlay on image reads "they make us feel bored
two people stand in front of six monitors with insta-like overlays read "they make us feel..." various emotions

As tracking and surveillance lead us through our  pandemic crisis, we enact another control system through the passive observation of our neighbors. Are they a threat, or essential to retaining our feeling of humanness? We notice our heightened sense of interdependence. Vibe Check extends throughout the gallery and appropriates common surveillance tools including face recognition and expression analysis to catalog the emotional effect exhibition visitors have on one another. Some are identified as evoking expressions of happiness, disgust, sadness, surprise, or boredom. Upon entering the exhibition, visitors are playfully alerted to who these people are, and as they leave, they may find they’ve earned this distinction themselves.

Commissioned by Haus der elektronischen Künste Basel and MU for the Real Feelings exhibition. Photos by Gina Folly and Franz Wamhof.