Daniela Brugger
Something invisible does not necessarily describe something absent

The video installation Something invisible does not necessarily describe something absent created in 2022 by artist Daniela Brugger deals with the merging of our bodies with the digital. Two microphone stands are placed next to each other, each holding a smartphone in portrait orientation. The stands are slightly offset in height: the lower one displays a video of a mouth, while the higher one shows an eye. The result is the impression of a distorted face, which appears technoid and alien. Part of the video includes an audio track, where a voice reads a text, but the sound echoes and reflects back. The eye and mouth belong to the artist, recorded during a performance in Rotterdam. Brugger's spoken monologue was sent via video call to various smartphones in the same room during the performance. Due to the differing speeds of data transmission, an audio feedback was created, producing a polyphonic effect. The resulting audio track is combined with the recording of the original video call. In the installation, the two videos loop, mimicking a kind of continuous performance.

The spoken text was written by the artist herself and refers to various discourses from feminist literature. The work and the looping spoken text were created as part of Brugger's research and reflect her engagement with cyberfeminism, collective structures, and the everyday use of digital media and devices. Through the layering of her own voice, the artist creates a polyphony that makes a body appear as many. In this multiplication, the artist positions herself as a body composed of many, drawing on her understanding of the self as a collective being.

Text: Nina Liechti