© Dayana Matasheva
Dayana Matasheva
/feels/
Instagram residency 2024
From June 15 to August 15, 2024
@dazibaomtl
/feels/ is a multimedia project based on anonymous messages from the crystal.cafe discussion forum, and freely inspired by Chantal Akerman's film 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.
Initially a video exploration, /feels/ is deconstructed into still images accompanied by texts taken 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 an artist and writer who operates within the frameworks of post-authorship and post-identity. She holds Bachelor's degrees in Philology (2015) and Film Production (2020), which have shaped her interest in online folklore, found text, and collective narrative building. Currently, she is working on an experimental dystopian novel supported by the Conseil des Arts et des lettres du Québec. She is also part of the artist duo DemonLovers, launching this summer.
Dazibao thanks the artist for her generous collaboration as well as its advisory committee for their support.
Dazibao receives financial support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the ministère de la Culture et des Communications and the Ville de Montréal.
Dazibao acknowledges that it is located on the unceded territory of the Kanien'kehá: ka Nation and that Tiohtiá:ke / Montreal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations, and today, is home to a diverse population of Indigenous as well as other peoples. Guided by ethics of respect, listening, and awareness, Dazibao commits to a continued reflection regarding the deep-rooted and systemic challenges tied to accessibility and inclusivity in the arts and beyond, and endeavors to apply such reflections to all aspects of its activities and governance.