BlindingPleasures February10th–March18th|PrivateViewFebruary10th6pm-9pm|Exhibi>onopenThurs-Sat12-6pm AngelaWashko,BenjaminGrosser,ManBartleN/curatedbyFilippoLorenzin

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arebyteGalleryispleasedtopresentBlindingPleasures,thefirstshowlaunchingits2017programmefocusingonthethemeofControl.Thegroupexhibi>onBlindingPleasures,curatedbyFilippoLorenzin,willstudythedangersandpoten>alsofaconscioususeofthemechanismsbehindtheFalseConsensuseffectanditsmarke>ng-drivenson,theso-called“FilterBubble”.Thisprojectwillbeanoccasiontoreflectandques>ontheseissueswiththeinvolvementofar>sts,psychologists,lawyers,sociologistsandcommunica>onexperts. Themorningsa]erboththeBrexitvoteandthe2016U.SPresiden>alElec>on,socialmediawasusedmorethaneverforsharingsadness,fearandevendespera>on;peoplefeltcheated,askinghowitwaspossiblethatBrexitandDonaldTrumpwoneventhoughtheysawontheirsocialmediafeedsinthepreviousmonthsthateveryonewasgoingtovoteagainstthem.Therealitythesocialmediachannelsperceivedandtherealandfinaloutcomeweretoowideanddeep. BlindingPleasureswillexplorethereasonsandthewaysinwhichtheFalseConsensuseffecttakesplaceonadailybasis,onlineandoffline,duetotheconstruc>onofenvironmentsonlyallowingpersonstoconnectwithpeoplewhoshareasimilaropinion.NotpayingaNen>ontosignsthatconfoundexpecta>onsisoneofthemostimportantandsubtlefunc>oningofhumanpsyche;moreo]enthannot,itisaninvoluntarymechanismtriggeringoutselfdefense. Marke>ngagenciesandcentresofpowerlearnthowtomasterthisbiasfortheirinterests.Shapingapublicopiniondoesn’tnecessarilymeantofiltertheinforma>onneededtocontroltheextremelypar>sancommuni>esblindtootheropinionsbutrather,andforemost,tosharpenthedifferencesamongoppositegroupsgivingbirthtoextremepartlyblindedcommuni>es.BlindingPleasuresisanexhibi>onthatreflectsonhowpeoplecancri>callytakecontrolovertheirinnerpsychologicalbiases,disrup>ngtheaNemptsofbeingmisledbythosewhodetainpoweronthepladormstheyuse.

Ul>mately,theexhibi>onques>onsthemeansinwhichoneretainscontroloverthesesystems.Star>ngfromanonsocialmediarelatedpointofview,theexhibi>onexplorestheperksandtroublesofbehavinginanenvironmentdesignedtokeeppeoplelockedinitbyexploi>ngtheirneedtobesociallyacceptedandreassured.Giventhecomplexityofthetopic,inquirywon’tbefromawhollynega>veorposi>vepresump>on;it’llbeanopportunitytostartaconversa>onaimedtocollec>velyaddresssubtleandinfluen>alpsychologicalfunc>oning.

arebyte Gallery | Charity # 1167185 arebyte 2 | LASER Gallery49 White Post Lane | E9 5EN 2 Pear Tree Street | EC1V 3SB info@arebyte.com hello@arebyte.com

BlindingPleasuresislaunchingarebyte’s2017programmesurroundingandrespondingtothethemeofControlasinspiredbyDeleuze’sPostscriptforSocie-esofControl.

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AngelaWashkowillshowSurvivalRatesInCap-vity(FreeWillMode#5)(2017),anewuneditedworkofherongoingprojectFreeWillMode.Thisisaseriesofvideosinwhichthear>stusesTheSimstoplacehumanAr>ficialIntelligenceintoarchitecturalsitua>onstotesttheconstraintsoftheirabilitytorethinktheenvironmentsthey'vebeenplacedin.

AngelaWashko,SurvivalRatesInCap-vity(FreeWillMode#5),2017 BenjaminGrosserwillpresentGoRando(2016),abrowserextensionthatobfuscatesfeelingsonFacebook.Every>meusersclick“Like”,GoRandorandomlychoosesoneofthesixFacebook“reac>ons”forthem.WanttoseewhatFacebookfeelslikewhenyouremo>onsareobscured? GoRando.

! BenjaminGrosser,GoRando,2016

arebyte Gallery | Charity # 1167185 arebyte 2 | LASER Gallery49 White Post Lane | E9 5EN 2 Pear Tree Street | EC1V 3SB info@arebyte.com hello@arebyte.com

ManBartleNwillpresentaninstalla>on>tledBrowsingtheBlues(2017)createdinpartfromtheelectromagnetoutputofhisiPhonerecordedwhilebrowsinghissocialmediafeeds,aswellasatakeawayprintthatrepresentsthescoreoftheaudiopieceoverlaidonadepic>onofthecircuitryoftheiPhonemodelheused.Inconcert,thisactasasortofsignatureofhisdigitalconsump>on.

! ManBartleN,TheAkashaModel,2016

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Accompanyingtheshowisaseriesofeventsinvolvingbothexpertsandthegeneralpublicintheconversa>on. ThefirstpaneldiscussionwillbeheldonFriday25thFebruarywithProfessorofSociologyAmparoLasénandSocialStudiesexpertEbruYe>şkinwhowillexplainwhatistheFalseConsensuseffectsintermsofdailyofflinelife.Attheendoftheevent,EbruYe>şkinwillleadaworkshopthatwillshowtheaudiencehoweasyitistofallwithinthesefunc>ons. Inthesecondtalk,takingplaceonSaturday18thMarch,lawyerKevinPoulterandNBCjournalistCatherineChapmanwilldiscusshowbeingtrappedinacomfortzoneinfluencesourbehavioursatworkandtheconsequencesofrelyingonourhabitswhenwethinkaboutpoli>cs.

Alongtheseevents,wewillscreenFacebookistan(2016)directedbyJakobGoNschau,adocumentarytakingacloselookatFacebook,itslaws,powersanditsinfluenceonprivacyandfreedomofexpression.ThescreeningwilltakeplaceonSaturday11thMarch.

arebyte Gallery | Charity # 1167185 arebyte 2 | LASER Gallery49 White Post Lane | E9 5EN 2 Pear Tree Street | EC1V 3SB info@arebyte.com hello@arebyte.com

Bios

CuratorFilippoLorenzinisaLondon-basedindependentcuratorandcri>caltheorist.Hehasworkedonmanyexhibi>ons,eventsandalectureseriesfocusingontherela>onbetweensocio-technologicalchangesandart,basedonaMcLuhanianpointofview.Hecollaboratedinvariouswayswith–amongothers-TheVictoria&AlbertMuseum,SaatchiGallery,ParisCollegeofArt,LaBiennalediVenezia,GoetheIns>tutandFrançoisPinaultFounda>on.hNps://twiNer.com/fi_lor

Ar>stsAngelaWashkoisaNewYork-basednewmediaar>standfacilitatordevotedtocrea>ngnewforumsfordiscussionsoffeminisminthespacesmosthos>letowardit.SheisthefounderoftheCouncilonGenderSensi>vityandBehaviouralAwarenessinWorldofWarcra]tobringaNen>ontoandprotestthesexistlanguagefromplayersinthegamehNp://angelawashko.com/

BenjaminGrosserfocusesonthecultural,social,andpoli>caleffectsofso]ware.Whatdoesitmeanforhumancrea>vitywhenacomputa>onalsystemcanpaintitsownartworks?Howisaninterfacethatforegroundsourfriendcountchangingourconcep>onsoffriendship?Whydowebecomeemo>onallyaNachedtoso]waresystemsandwhatdoesthisaNachmentenableforthosewhomadethem?Toexamineques>onslikethese,heconstructsinterac>veexperiences,machines,andsystemsthatmakethefamiliarunfamiliar,revealingthewaysthatso]wareprescribesourbehaviourandthus,howitchangeswhoweare.hNps://bengrosser.com/

ManBartleCisamul>disciplinaryar>stwholivesandworksinNewYork.Hisdiverseprac>ceincludessound,drawing,collage,video,performanceanddigitalprojectsthato]enuseonlinepladormsasoutletsforplayfulyetsubversivesocialcri>que.BartleNhasexhibitedorperformedinavarietyofvenuesincluding:TheVictoria&AlbertMuseum,his>nywindowlessbedroom,TheBrooklynMuseum,aBestBuystore,FreiesMuseum(Berlin),Eyebeam(NewYork),FluxFactory(LongIslandCity),iMOCA(Indianapolis),PortAuthorityBusTerminal,TheBoulderMuseumofContemporaryArt,WinklemanGallery,andtheWhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt,amongmanyothers.hNp://www.manbartleN.com/

Paneldiscussionspar>cipantsAmparoLasénholdsaPh.D.fromtheUniversityParisV-LaSorbonne.SheisProfessorofSociologyattheUniversityComplutensedeMadrid.Herresearchfocusesonthesocialimplica>onsoftheusages,prac>cesandpresenceofmobilemediaespeciallyinrela>onshipwithaffec>vityandtheconfigura>onofcontemporarysubjec>vi>es,fromeverydayprac>cesandusestopoli>calcollec>veac>ons.hNps://ucm.academia.edu/AmparoLas%C3%A9n

EbruYeGskinisanIstanbulbasedcuratorandresearcher,whoisworkingontheinterac>onofscience,technologyandart.ShestudiedRadio-TV-CinemaasabachelordegreeinIstanbulUniversity.ThensheaNendedthemasterprogramonScience,TechnologyandSocietyinIstanbulTechnicalUniversityandUniversitéLouisPasteur,andstartedworkingontheimpactofuncertaintyofscienceinthepolicymakingprocess.ShecompletedthePhDprograminsociologyinMimarSinanFineArtsUniversityin2008.Since12years,shehasbeenworkingasaresearcherinIstanbulTechnicalUniversityandteachingsociology,contemporaryartandmediarelatedcourses.hNp://www.ebruye>skin.com/

arebyte Gallery | Charity # 1167185 arebyte 2 | LASER Gallery49 White Post Lane | E9 5EN 2 Pear Tree Street | EC1V 3SB info@arebyte.com hello@arebyte.com

CatherineChapmanisanindependentjournalistwhoworksinbetweenthenewsroomandartgallery,followinganeclec>cbeatoftechnology,surveillanceandculture.SheregularlywritesforVICEandNBCandherpreviousacademicresearchhasfocusedontherela>onshipbetweenthemediaandintelligenceagencies.hNps://twiNer.com/cathapman

KevinPoulterisanEmploymentLawyeradvisingbusinessesandseniorexecu>veemployeesonemploymentlaw,employeerights,contractissuesandemploymentdisputes.KevinisarespectedspeakeronemploymentlawandsocialmediamaNers,wri>ngregularcontribu>onsontopicalemploymentissuesinthelocalandna>onalpressandhashadfeaturesincludedintheGuardian,YorkshirePost,DailyMirror,DailyTelegraphandTheSundayTimesaswellasprofessionaljournalsincludingTheLawyer,LegalWeekandtheLawSocietyGazeNe.HehasalsoappearedonBBCBreakfastandradio,discussingemploymentlawreformandHRissues.hNps://kevinpoulter.com

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Moreinforma>onabouttheexhibi>onatarebyteGallerycanbefoundhere:hNp://www.arebyte.com

Forfurtherinforma>onpleasecontact:Rebecca@arebyte.com/+447450641411

arebyte Gallery | Charity # 1167185 arebyte 2 | LASER Gallery49 White Post Lane | E9 5EN 2 Pear Tree Street | EC1V 3SB info@arebyte.com hello@arebyte.com