/feels/ is a multimedia project based on anonymous messages from the crystal.cafe discussion forum and freely inspired by Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. crystal.cafe is an image-sharing site designed to offer women an environment where they can feel safe.

Combining textual and visual elements /feels/ explores the emotional dynamics of online confession, the tensions of confinement and autonomy, and the interplay between privacy and exposure. Initially, a video exploration, /feels/ is deconstructed into still images accompanied by texts from the discussion forum. The project transposes the confessional intimacy of crystal.cafe onto the public platform of Instagram, echoing Chantal Akerman's approach of making private life public through cinema. Pixelated and lacking in definition, the images in /feels/ are nomadic, clandestine copies of an original that never existed, a portrait without a character.

In reference to the Battlestations games, /feels/ simulates the internal, intimate battles expressed by the users.

Dayana Matasheva is a visual artist and writer based in Montreal. Originally from Uzbekistan, she works in video, digital art, and sculpture, examining how algorithms and artificial intelligence influence the texts and images that shape modern society. With a background in Philology (2015) and Film Production (2020), she focuses on contemporary slang, online narratives, and people's emotional connections with technology, especially AI.

As co-founder of the artist duo DemonLovers Inc. with Edson Niebla, Matasheva sheds light on algorithmic systems and non-human agency's widespread, albeit invisible, role in consumer culture, fine art, and fashion. Their debut exhibition, The Salon, integrated AI into every facet of its production, highlighting how it influences material and digital design choices.

Matasheva has exhibited in solo and group shows and participated in festivals and screenings across Montreal and Europe. Currently, she is developing an experimental visual novel supported by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and a feature-length film that explores post-human storytelling.

Artist: Dayana Matasheva
Interview: France Choinière
Design: Dayana Matasheva
Under the direction of: France Choinière
2024
ISBN: 978-2-9221-35-664 (EPUB)