Data Dreamscape: The Black Box of Consciousness

In my recent artwork, I explored the intersection of personal experience, technology, and monitoring. The piece involved recording my sleeping patterns using a method similar to how monitoring systems track and record public behavior. After capturing the data, I photographed the wrinkled bed sheets from where I had slept. I printed the first image and overlaid it with freestyle hand-drawn patterns, created through rapid, spontaneous action. Another painting overlays these images with a golden pattern inscribed on the canvas, calculated from AI-analyzed sleep patterns, inviting the viewer to consider the contrast between organic, human expression and algorithmic, machine-generated interpretations.

This work delves into the concept of the “black box” in relation to human consciousness and monitoring. The term “black box” refers to systems where the internal processes are obscured or inaccessible, even though external data is continuously monitored and recorded. In this context, the human brain’s activities—akin to the data collected by monitoring systems—are not directly observable but are subject to analysis and interpretation by external technologies.

The artwork reflects on how modern technologies, similar to public monitoring systems, track and observe human behavior. These systems collect data without fully revealing their methods or purposes, paralleling how our subconscious processes are monitored by external technologies yet remain opaque to us.

By juxtaposing personal, intimate moments (such as sleep) with the impersonal, pervasive nature of monitoring, this piece critiques the control mechanisms embedded in our digital and physical environments. It questions the extent to which our personal experiences are influenced or constrained by systems of observation and control, even when we are not consciously aware of their impact.

This exploration delves into how technology not only monitors but potentially shapes our understanding of ourselves and our behaviors, drawing a line between personal privacy and technological oversight. Through this work, I aim to illuminate the complex relationship between human consciousness, technological monitoring, and the erosion of privacy.