The series “J. Doe, an abstract identity” dives on the concept of identity in itself, reflecting upon what it is that really makes us be who we are. Working with the ultimate idea of the collective and anonymous subject, I pose the question of the self-construction of the SELF, in present times of groundbreaking technology and genetic engineering advances, and the never more up to date concept of hyper-reality, intertwined with a surrealist gaze. Weighing the roles of the psyche and the physical in the emerging personality awareness and the desire of modifying oneself, is it possible to make an abstraction of the identity, reckoning the social and the media that condition and influence the construction of the self? Which types of changes a person can undergo, without losing his identity, or ceasing to exist?
“We are the same person in so far as we are aware of past and future thoughts and actions in the same way that we are aware of present thoughts and actions.” John Locke
This is how the English physicist and philosopher referred to PERSONAL IDENTITY. Identity as a concatenation of memories, a continuity of consciousness, which, directed to the past, gives rise to memory.
Throughout the entire series of “J. doe, an abstract identity”, I work on the construction and deconstruction of identity. Through operations of transformation and juxtaposition, I attempt to regenerate the abstract identity of J. Doe, a character that represents all of us, and none of us at the same time.
Pierced by the gaze of John Locke, in “Collective identity” I seek to reconstruct the memory of this abstract character together. In this way, I research on how we can shape identity out of collective memory. Perhaps this is the ultimate way to challenge the concept of identity.
Using a Google form, I collect completely anonymous memories. The spectator is invited to fill in the blank with his or her own memories, whether distant or recent. I then employ an artificial intelligence algorithm to pour the data and translate it into a chatbot. Anyone in the world can then chat with John Doe and access his memories, and thus his identity, through an online chat that recounts the memories of his life in infinite detail.
