Entities are measured quantitatively in order to be recognized and processed by computational methods to build up models, explaining natural and social phenomena and events, constructing the reality surrounding us. However, quantitative data generation involves mediation, i.e. processes in which the measured entity is brought into being in the form of numbers, whereas its form of existence is shaped and limited by the measurement itself. Thus, the measured entity is not existing ‘purely’, but through or within the mediating unit.

In 17 seconds the audience is involved in the process of quantitative data generation itself. The work showcases that data as an outcome is shaped by the instruments and methods of measurement, as well as the presumptions and intentions of the data collector.

This project is produced as part of the Summer Sessions Network for Talent Development in a co-production of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts and V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media.