biancoshock brings ‘real-life’ internet to the elderly residents of an italian village
for the project 'web 0.0', 12 urban interventions give 'virtual' functions to commonplace analog technologies.
biancoshock brings ‘real-life’ internet to the elderly residents of an italian village
all images courtesy of biancoshock
civitacampomarano is a tiny village in the province of central italy’s campobasso region with a population of about 400 inhabitants — most of which are elderly. in this town of rich tradition and history, the internet remains a partially unknown world: cell phones hardy function and data connections are essentially nonexistent.
for the first edition of the cvta’ street art festival staged throughout the village, italian artist biancoshock has brought a ‘real-life’ internet to the residents of civitacampomarano. for the project ‘web 0.0’, 12 urban interventions give ‘virtual’ functions to commonplace analog technologies.
a facebook wall has been made into a bulletin board, where updates about the town are displayed
a ‘twitter bench’ provides a place for locals to casually chat with each other; a ‘facebook wall’ has been made into a bulletin board, displaying town updates and news; a ‘whatsapp booth’ provides a place for residents to make phone calls; and a ‘wetransfer-mobile’ delivers packages and goods around town.
while many of these virtual technologies are considered to be necessary parts of everyday modern life, biancoshock demonstrates that these instruments — in other forms — have always existed. while many aspects of communication take place through a screen, these methods of conversation were once places and spaces, where communities would come together for cultural exchange by simply meeting at a bar, or gathering in the town’s streets.
biancoshock: ‘web 0.0’
video courtesy of fra biancoshock
locals gather near the facebook wall to discuss the town’s upcoming events
a whatsapp booth provides a place for locals to make a phone call
a wetransfer-mobile delivers packages and goods directly to the homes of the residents
the gmail icon indicates the place where residents post their mail
an RSS feed comes in the form of a local newspaper
an ebay shop hosts commercial activity for the local community
residents watch TV and movies in a youtube ‘theater’ staged at a local bar
an elderly woman is the host of countless knowledge, just like wikipedia
residents meet up and exchange knowledge, information and ideas at a local bar
antivirus software company avast is realized as a pharmacy where locals can treat ailments
