“Dead Slow” is an examination of our current culture in comparison to previous generations, or in contrast with the decades before the internet. This has been in the back burner for a while, but the pandemic and lockdowns have made these questions more important than ever.
From the way we buy necessities to the way we perceive art, we have changed a lot, and I believe we should be aware of how and why. And if we don’t like it, we should change it. That part is up to each of us.
Convenience vs effort.
Easy vs hard.
Instant gratification vs long-term fulfilment.
Unlimited choice vs a few good options.
Digital vs physical.
Quantity vs quality.
More vs less.
Fast vs slow.
Why is it impossible to pick a movie to watch from the thousands of options you have at your fingertips?
Why are you so bored of all your playlists when Spotify has millions of songs you’ve never heard yet?
Is the “ease” and “convenience” being sold to you in every ad making your life better?
Why do we not bother fixing things anymore but just buy new ones?
Why are you always dissatisfied even though you buy and do all the things you thought would make you happy?
This is a project where we look at our current culture, and how it has changed in the digital age. Our choices both in the physical world and the digital are vaster than ever, but is this new world as good as it appears? What are we trading off?
At the intersection of all this is a basic tension between comfort and convenience on the one hand, and effort and time on the other. The last decade, unlike any other, has been able to speed up simple tasks with such acceleration that obtaining something you want is not only unbelievably easier, but also much cheaper.
The idea is to look at the values of physical media and high-quality slow satisfaction in various areas like entertainment, art, clothing and more, and contrast with the way we take in information, the way we shop, the way we consume content in the digital age where everything is sped up to accommodate the ideals of comfort, convenience and instant gratification.
