Dark Content (2015) < Eva & Franco Mattes

A six-episode video installation series exploring the lives of internet content moderators. Contrary to popular belief, the removal of offensive material from the internet is not handled by sophisticated algorithms alone. Instead, it is the nerve-wracking and demanding work of thousands of anonymous individuals—people disguised as algorithms.

We interviewed six moderators and created videos in which avatars, using computer-generated voices, speak on their behalf. These avatars recount memories of the content they were tasked with removing from the web, including pornography, sexual solicitation, racism, and more.

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Eva & Franco Mattes, Dark Content

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Installed at Carroll / Fletcher, London.

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Projected at Whitechapel Gallery, London.

The six episodes were released exclusively on the Darknet. To watch them, download the Tor Browser from https://www.torproject.org and visit jnhvqx5annuswmmh3mhfj4exvartelzftr4gdc5chucllqqljccg3fid.onion

Eva & Franco Mattes, Dark Content

Screenshot from Ep.1 “I would prefer not to include my name”

Eva & Franco Mattes, Dark Content

Screenshot from Ep.2 “I’m currently living in my car”

Eva & Franco Mattes, Dark Content

Screenshot from Ep.3 “His reign stops here”

Screenshot from Ep.4 “A darker place mentally”

Eva & Franco Mattes, Dark Content

Screenshot from Ep.5 “Something wasn’t right”

Eva & Franco Mattes, Dark Content

Screenshot from Ep.6 “The saddest moment”

Commissioned by Abandon Normal Devices and Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art.