In an era where our digital presence extends beyond our physical existence, what does it mean to die in the digital realm?
Today our digital identity is not just what we create. It is an aggregate of partial data, misattributions, and namesakes, forming an unstable, fragmented self.
Our digital footprint, the data we produce online everyday, ensures that traces of our identities persist indefinitely.
For those who have little to no digital presence, disappearance from the internet means a definitive social death. Conversely, in a world that increasingly defines us through data, how important is immortality, and how much of our identity is dictated by its persistence?
Ancient rituals remind us that mourning is not only about remembering, but also about ensuring a final passing. The right to be forgotten arises as a modern ritual, offering individuals the possibility - though rarely the certainty - of digital erasure.
In the contemporary age, where companies make it impossible to erase the information we share, what rituals do we need to let go of the dead?
The tension between memory and oblivion poses ethical and philosophical dilemmas: does deleting one’s online presence equate to a second death, or does it offer liberation from perpetual surveillance?
More importantly: do we really want to be forgotten?
Tutta Notte Buia is an interactive installation that reimagines the ancient mourning rituals of the chiangimuerti through speculative digital erasure.
By MAalex Alessia Fallica (IT), Martina Pizzigoni (IT)
Alex Fallica (Lecce, *1998) is a new media artist. After a BA in New Media Art Technologies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice and a Master's Program in Cultural Project Management, by the Università Cattolica and Politecnico di Milano, they currently attending the Interface Cultures MA at the Kunstuniversität in Linz (AT). Since September 2021, they have also collaborated with the Milan-based multimedia art studio, Tokonoma. Not focusing on any specific media and being willing to experiment but having grown fond of video art, installation and interactivity, their research focuses on socio-anthropological aspects of human nature, with a profound interest in violence and violation both as physical and psychological phenomena.
Martina Pizzigoni (Italy, *1998) is a multimedia artist. They obtained a BA in New Media Art Technologies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, with a period of study at TU - Technological University Dublin. In 2021, they graduated with an MA in Cultural Project management at the Università Cattolica and Politecnico di Milano. Their artistic practice focuses on the creation of interactive experiences, while the main interest of their research is the context in which we live, with the social and anthropological implications that characterise our digitally dominated society. They are currently attending the MA Interface Culture programme at the Kunstuniversität Linz, Austria.
The work Tutta Notte Buia will be shown at IC @ Ars Electronica 2025.
