SICK ;) HAHAHAHA. 2018

HD Video, single-channel, colour, sound, duration 03min 53sec.  Videostills

Synopsis:

The term 'computer virus' was first formally defined by Fred Cohen in 1983, is a type of malicious software that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. When this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be infected with a computer virus. It can self-replicate, inserting itself onto other programs or files, infecting them in the process. Not all computer viruses are destructive though. However, most of them perform actions that are malicious in nature, such as destroying data.

The project has main references the film “Westworld” in 1973, written and directed by Michael Crichton, made an early mention of the concept of a computer virus, being a central plot theme that causes androids to run amok. Alan Oppenheimer's character summarizes the problem by stating that "...there's a clear pattern here which suggests an analogy to an infectious disease process, spreading from one...area to the next." To which the replies are stated: "Perhaps there are superficial similarities to disease" and, "I must confess I find it difficult to believe in a disease of machinery.

The project "Sick ;) hahahaha" is a video documentation of a computer's screen which shows the ways and the side effects of a virus infecting a computer system. Think of it as a biological virus which attacs a human immune system disturbing its nervous system, causing paranoia and making it inadequate to cope with. Imagine it as a parable between the real world and the virtual world, exploring human-computer and societal-internet relationships.