Julia Stoschek Foundation has organized a group exhibition titled Digital Diaries, which features artists who have experimented with diaristic forms in video and digital art from the 1970s to the present day. The exhibition consists of videos, photographs, video sculptures and mixed-media works created by artists such as Sophie Calle, Hannah Wilke, Alex Ayed, Sophie Gogl, Jota Mombaça, and Tromarama, among others. The theme of this exhibition was inspired by the iconic work The Electronic Diaries of Lynn Hershman Leeson 1984–2019, in which the artist navigates her fears, anxieties and traumas in a stunning video confessional.

It is in the diary that the confessional can move away from a purely personal emotional outpouring into a more public form which can engage the viewer in the artist's world. Jota Mombaça and Martine Syms take the confessional nature of online posting and pose the question: under the constant deluge of information that we provide about ourselves, when do we exceed the boundaries of self-disclosure? Each of the artists carves out a niche for their situated experiences, critically approaching this tendency through which we often present a false image of who we are to the public.

Social media has become pervasive in its influence in our daily lives, affecting how we understand the nature and content of our identities. The diaristic form can, likewise, be imbued with different content, ranging from self-portraiture to serving as a vehicle through which the artist addresses a wider socio-political context.

Digital Diaries is on display through February 2, 2025 at Julia Stoschek Foundation in Dusseldorf. The show runs concurrently in the same location with a solo exhibition dedicated to Lynn Hershman Leeson titled Are Our Eyes Targets? More information can be accessed here.

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