During this residency, I use Mukbang, a South Korean trend wherein web or television hosts eat large amounts of food, as a case study of the YouTube recommendation algorithm’s impact on developing economies and their ecology. My series of video work and live interactive experiments entitled The Dinner Table explores the Internet’s material impact on the environment, reveals how trends like Mukbang create an imbalance in our global food supply chain, and uncovers the origin point: excessive consumption of endless viral content. This portal is part of an ongoing project to highlight connections between individual action and environmental issues, and expose how tech institutions mediate these pathways. I hope audiences see this shared vision, engage in re-imagining digital space, and collectively re-design the physical space that follows.
Jennifer Katanyoutanant, Bangkok/Thailand — Web Resident »Planetary Glitch«
Jennifer Katanyoutanant is an artist, creative producer, and founder of Made in Asia, a new media consultancy and Creative Tech Lab that uses the power of storytelling and immersive media to better connect with and learn from local communities. She’s interested in using social aspects of interactive art and technology to find common ground between seemingly different cultures. Most recently, Jennifer collaborated with a small group of foragers, artists, hackers, and writers and conducted a series of interactive feasts in Thailand called DinnerCons. They cooked with local Thai community, foraged jungle ingredients, and exhibited the intricacies and unique flavor profiles of Thai cuisine through sculptures, design, and games. It is the group’s starting point for exploring how food crosses boundaries in unexpected ways.