Eva & Franco Mattes

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What Has Been Seen (2017)

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, What Has Been Seen

 

 

A sculpture featuring a stuffed black cat whose bulging eyes suggest an intense emotional reaction to something seen, sitting atop three microwaves, each containing an erased hard drive.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, What Has Been Seen

 

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, What Has Been Seen

 

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, What Has Been Seen

 

 

The work is inspired by the popular LOLcat meme “What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen,” which refers to viewers’ reactions to repugnant, disturbing, or horrific content and the mental image that a user cannot erase after viewing it. The work asks whether data can truly be permanently erased—from our hard drives? From our memories?

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, What Has Been Seen