If the world became mute, would music be remembered as an art form or a product? Rooted in this digital era, the current commodification of the mainstream music industry is narrowing the boundaries for musicians. In a system, which causes leisure and communication to require shorter attention spans, new songwriting and marketing techniques adapted. It’s a vicious circle fed by the listeners and the suppliers. The virtual realm grants musicians a higher chance to be heard. Simultaneously, showing their faces online became essential. Especially as a newcomer, it became harder to grow a fanbase while rejecting these modern perimeters. As a consequence, musicians find themselves stuck in the one-way track of photos and short videos, hoping to please the algorithms and stand out to make people’s thumbs pause for a few seconds. The track only leads downwards. When I was working on my debut EP, I witnessed firsthand how this modern system militates against creativity. Since, I couldn’t stop picturing a future in which the damage has already been done and music has been devalued by reckless consumerism. Translated in three tableau photographs, mute. presents a dystopian vision of where we could be heading to. In the video, I interview six professionals from the field as they elaborate on the foundations, developments and effects of these complications.
graduation exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, 2023