// justine
magbitang

Surround Screen

reflecting on my relationship with computers and distraction.

About the Work

Surround Screen is a hybrid virtual/physical installation that invites viewers to step into the shoes of a student who is forced to go through online school in the midst of the pandemic. It explores themes of distraction, computers, and how they affect productivity and life.

This work was inspired by my personal relationship with technology. Having been exposed to computers for all my life, I always saw using them as a time for leisure and relaxation—I could play my favourite online games or watch hours of videos and movies. Coming into the Digital Futures program introduced an entirely new side to this relationship because computers then became the home of my work, the means to be productive, and consequently a source of anxiety, dread, and distraction.

My aim was to create irony by tackling these subjects of distraction and computers, all while telling it through digital interactions. Despite my complex and ever-evolving relationship with computers, it is undoubtedly a huge factor and has shaped me into the creative I am today.

Virtual Installation

The work is a simulation of my own experience starting university online due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Isolated at home and staring at screens for several hours a day—oftentimes throughout the whole night—I found it extremely difficult to stay focused and to do things I was supposed to do, such as working on assignments.

Inside the virtual installation, you are seated at a desk with a blank Google Doc open in front of you. You have an essay to write, but nothing really draws you to write nor rewards you for completing. Instead, the existing interactions and stimuli are meant to draw your attention away from your essay and look around space, such as the laptop with Lo-Fi Girl playing with occasional interruptions by skippable ads, or the phone which you can open up Subway Surfer to and let the hours fly by.

Physical Installation

Through the physical installation, the virtual environment is brought to life. It is expanded into a cozy corner workspace including a floor lamp and a desk with the two screens and random figures/fidget objects. On the wall, there are decorative posters and art from my own home to add more personality into the space, and a wall area full of sticky notes.

To connect the virtual and physical aspects of the work, I invite the viewer to take a sticky note and write a task that has been in their own to-do list for a very long time, but have been distracted from actually completing yet. The reason for distraction does not have to be tech-related, but I think it would be comforting for both myself and others to see that everyone is going through their own struggles when it comes to distraction and productivity.