From mobile telephones to laptops: most portable electronics are covered in metal and glass — or hard plastics for the more budget-friendly variations. Jaakko Myyri (1991) is offering us a glimpse underneath these smooth surfaces. His work The jump (auto-elucidation) (2023) consists of two metal boxes that each have a peephole. Those looking through them will see a number of videos by Myyri played on smartwatch screens. The first is a compilation of clips featuring rowdy teenagers who are simultaneously jumping in an elevator, thus activating the safety mechanism to bring it to a halt. By thinking about how devices and machines can be disrupted, Myyri is showing how forcibly their use has been determined. Another animation creates the illusion of traveling through the air at a dizzying speed; the clouds are flashing by. This video is about jumping as well, as the famous science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov used the term ‘the jump’ to describe traveling faster than the speed of light. Myyri explains that last reference as follows: “The speed at which the number of devices in our lives is increasing, forces us to think about their effect on us.”
Myyri’s work also contains humour, for instance the screens behind the glass peepholes that are jumping themselves. He explains that he wanted to mimic the movement that enables smartwatches to register steps. Incidentally, technology does not necessarily lead to progress according to Myyri. The amount of screentime we are wasting every day, for instance, demonstrates how technology can easily control our lives. Through his work, Myyri is installing alternative narratives on our operating systems.
Text: Jorne Vriens
Translation from Dutch to English: Marie Louise Schoondergang