Ad Tech Constellations
GRAPA residency with Joana Moll
Ad Tech Constellations is a long-term research and action process that aims to provide in-depth knowledge about the functioning of the ad tech ecosystem.
Ad tech refers to the network of tools and software that advertisers use to reach audiences, and to present and gauge digital advertising campaigns. GRAPA’s support for the artist Joana Moll explores the elementary architectures of these online advertising technology systems, generating a space in which these obscure and apparently intangible structures come into contact with bodies and emotions. This research project aims to visibilize conflicts with digital rights and the environmental costs of this type of practice, and promote ethical and sustainable ways of working within the advertising industry.
With a team of artists, researchers and advisors, Joana Moll proposes a surprising combination of systemic therapy methods (a therapeutic discipline based on interpersonal relationships) with documentary theatre to create a series of performative rehearsals.
As well as portraying the technical elements and processes that are the backbone of ad tech, the project focuses on the “intangible layers” intrinsically linked to the online advertising ecosystem, such as decision-making processes, energy consumption, environmental impact, and the emotional toll on users who are exhausted and exploited by unpaid labour.
Ad Tech Constellations is a project by Joana Moll in collaboration with HGK FHNW Basel, beginning in 2023 and proposed as a three-year research-action.