Abracadabra ︎

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Abracadabra by Ronnie Karfiol is presented as part of the the CCA Exhibition “Stumbling through the Uncanny Valley”, exploring the discourse between digitally rendered art and the self.

Abracadabra is an animation work guiding the user through new methods of mummification as they are performed online by big data mammoths, such as social media providers and data agencies.

The video follows an installation wizard, akin to a software installation, in which the performed ritual is that of mummificating not the physical body, but rather the spirit which is enveloped within the vast amount of data collected throughout a user’s lifetime generated online data. 

Abracadabra is an ancient Hebrew spell, which literally means “To create as one speaks/To create with words”. It has been widely accepted since the Middle Ages as a powerful magical spell. In this context of mummification through data, the data - which is usually just code - is the new word of creation.