The Internet has opened the door into our most private spaces and virtuality has infiltrated our bodies, merging reality and fiction. The first cam-girls of the 90s were important early examples of how the internet could create a cyborg subject by integrating human images with the internet, setting the conversation regarding the relationship of technology and gender, sex and the performative body. By merging art, technology and participatory design, «Syntia_cam» is a commentary on sex workers’ evolving relationship with digital media and its impact on their daily lives. The project aims to contribute to the destigmatization of sex work by bringing to the public space new perspectives and experiences, challenging traditional notions of representation and perception.
«Ludovica’s project «Syntia_CAM» brings to the forefront people that are often stigmatised, stereotyped and devalued as they are sex workers. This project instead gives them agency and empowers them to take control of aspects of their online representation. Sex work and the Internet have had the longest relationship, yet the pioneering history is not well known, and sex workers are still for the majority not involved in the tools, the platforms, the transaction modalities, the interfaces that they are using every day. «Syntia_CAM» through iterative workshops and co-design methods actually created an environment where for once sex workers were able to have the main voice in the UX design process while being able to reflect on the digital identities they want to have.» – Excerpt from the supporting statement of the Subject Area in Interaction Design
«What make «Syntia_cam» innovative is certainly the use of 3D avatars and motion capture technology to enable and expand a critical discourse about digital sex work in the public space. Moreover, the use of participatory research and performance allowed the creation of a space where the participants have brought their experiences and creative imagination, actively contributing to the final artefact.» – Ludovica Galleani d’Agliano
«In the future I would like to continue researching the intersection of new technologies, feminism and pop culture. I am fascinated by the ways in which technology is changing the perception of our identity, questioning the assumptions and power that are embedded in digital structures. I would like to keep using my design and art practice to trig some uncomfortable conversations.» – Ludovica Galleani d’Agliano
