OD/FR at Whippersnapper Gallery reimagines social media’s limits and potential through bold digital art interrogating recognition, performance, and power structures.
In an age where algorithms dictate our feeds and likes are currency, On Display/For Review (OD/FR) takes a sledgehammer to the foundations of social media. This digital residency and think tank pushes past the dopamine-driven, swipe-happy façade of platforms, diving headfirst into their psychological and cultural underpinnings. With support from EQ Bank and the Canada Arts Council, OD/FR commissions digital projects that critically interrogate, disrupt, and expand the boundaries of our online existence.
At its core, OD/FR reckons with the thrilling, terrifying nature of recognition. It explores the fragile ecstasy of vulnerability, the anxiety of judgment, and the insatiable hunger for connection that fuels our digital lives. OD/FR frames these moments as mirrors to our 21st-century selves: performing, projecting, yearning to be understood.
They reimagine Instagram, chatrooms, and other digital spaces as experimental canvases, challenging the prescriptive structures that shape modern recognition. Their work unveils the unseen tensions in our digital lives, from the voyeurism of the “infinite scroll” to the anxieties of online performance. It reminds us that even within the constraints of screens, there’s room to rethink, resist, and redefine how we connect.
Strike Design Studio offers frank consultancy and striking solutions for IRL and URLS. Designing brands, websites, and printed matter.