2017 (multi-channel video installation, 8:56 min; 16 objects of variable dimensions, duct tape, textile)

In her recent book Updating to Remain the Same- Habitual New Media, Wendy Hui Kyong Chun closely inspects transition of media, from the new to the habitual. What happens when our bodies become archives of supposedly obsolescent media, streaming, updating, sharing, saving? Following this idea, the project Whales takes another perspective on the topic of the updated notion of self. Bodies of addicted players melt together with the landscape constructed with models appropriated from the commercial video games. Main protagonists are silent non-playable characters known as Whales, and Whale is a common name in the video game industry given to the highly addicted players who obsessively invest money in order to upgrade their avatars and gain certain social status among numerous virtual communities. They can be seen as Creatures of the update, stranded in the low-resolution renderings of the progress. Instead of the old play-to-win approach, the only way out now is a pay-to-win game model based in habits that have turned into addictions.