IOCOSE IOCOSE

Empathy Box

“As often as their skins are wholly burned, we shall give them in exchange other skins” (Koran 4:56)

“For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Gospel of Matthew 18, 20)

“An empathy box it’s an extension of your body; it’s the way you touch other humans, it’s the way you stop being alone” (Philip K. Dick, ‘Do androids dream of electric sheep?’)

Empathy Box© is a machine enabling you to feel empathy.  It can be used by a group of persons to get an electric shock and share a strong and true feeling. The painful electric discharges are shared by the believers connected to each other and to the box. Everyone of them feels the same pain, thus everyone has the same experience.

Pain is the only common aspect of every religion. It is used for spreading any kind of dogma, it goes beyond the differences between the religious traditions and directly into the most intimate sphere of a human being.

Empathy Box© appeals to new generations by providing a technological tool for introducing religious life in daily habits. It can be used in a very short time, and its consumption can easily fit in a daily schedule. Aesthetically it looks like a stylish piece of furniture, made of several materials like wood and steel, solid and comfortable at the same time. It creates a strong physical sensation. It has been created for those who feel that the contact with their own soul is vanishing, and need to find a way for spirituality. It is supposed to be used in a group to encourage the social sharing of religious practices.

If the hi-tech market needs consumers constantly worshipping their products, then there is no reason for religions not to do the same.

Video: Produzioni Amenic

Electrical Setup: Mirko Mattioli

EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS:

2011

  • Domestic Standing Ovation, Aksioma Project Space, Ljubljana – Slovenia

2010

  • NodeFest, CSOA Forte Prenestino, Roma (Italy);
  • Machine Club, Istanbul (Turkey)

CRITICAL READINGS