Vicarious Life is an online platform where viewers can join a dinner conversation by proxy. Each
issue offers the chance to navigate through the discussion and thereby explore the theme from
multiple angles whilst taking in different viewpoints.
Whilst I was growing up,
mealtimes were always my favourite source of information and places of learning. Whether discussing
music with peers or attempting to follow the grown-ups’ discussions, at the dinner table was
where I would consume the most.
Today our modes of accessing information have changed dramatically and, it seems, have become
increasingly isolating endeavours thanks to advancing interface technology, the ensuing globalisation
of privacy and dislocation of the physical encounter.
Conversations around a shared meal have been an
essential vehicle for bonding, exchange and discussion throughout human history. But today we also
benefit from the increased informative access
and enhanced scope for interaction that the internet has given us. Therefore am interested in creating
a new space that unites these two forms of communication - the digital and physical, the dinner and debate.