Dialogue, 2024
HD film, colour (6:15 min.)
Psychological studies suggest that the act of photographing or filming can impair memory retention. Henkel (2014) refers to this as the Photo-Taking Impairment Effect—the tendency to remember fewer details of an event when it is captured through a camera. This phenomenon is also observable in the context of museum visits, where viewers who experience art primarily through the lens of their smartphones may become less deeply engaged with the artwork’s content, structure, and artistic intent. In this context, the act of quickly capturing an image for later use often takes precedence over conscious, present-moment perception.
The video work Dialogue addresses these issues by deliberately adopting a smartphone format (9:16), which has become the standard for contemporary social media. The film presents museum visitors in front of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, who, rather than engaging directly with the painting, observe it predominantly through their smartphone screens. The use of slow-motion amplifies the absurdity of the situation, as visitors’ movements become exaggerated, while the iconic artwork itself recedes into the background. The accompanying sound work further emphasizes the sense of alienation between the viewer and the artwork, enhancing the disconnection that results from this mediated interaction.
References
Henkel, L. A. (2014). Point-and-Shoot Memories: The Influence of Taking Photos on Memory for a Museum Tour. Psychological Science, 25(2), 396–402.