Stop being distracted. Disconnect. Join the Dark Pool and protect your privacy. So concludes each one of a series of short videos produced by artist Ignas Krunglevičius: three commercials for a fictitious company selling radio-frequency jammers – devices that block wi-fi, GSM, and 3G signals within a ten-meter radius. This equipment is actually available on the market but illegal to use.
The title of the work refers to a term in finance: a dark pool of liquidity is a trading volume not offered in public exchange or openly available to the public. Such transactions stay hidden from the public eye.
This video series, by expressing a willingness to block digital signals, weaponizes the idea of digital disconnection. It is an example of a controversial reaction to surveillance and the rapid development of technologies.
Shown at Seasons of Media Arts – City of Participative Visions (2019).
Time: 08.08.2019 – 15.09.2019
Location: Saturn, Kaiserstr. 146–148
