Speak to someone thousands of miles away as though they were in the room!

In Monitor Man, Yassine Khaled creates an embodiment of virtual communication in public space. The artist wears a helmet affixed with an iPad, which offers a real-time connection to a person outside the Western world with restricted freedom of movement.

Through the use of technology and his own body, Khaled uses the performance to transgress actual, national borders and enables people to meet with someone physically far away. Monitor Man was inspired by the current refugee crisis and how it is unfolding in relation to the internet, social media, and the omnipresence of technology. The project began on the streets of Helsinki, but is ongoing as the artist presents the work in different locations around the Western world. Monitor Man received an Honorary Mention at Prix Ars Electronica 2018, Interactive Art + category.

Yassine Khaled is a Moroccan visual artist based in Helsinki. His sculptures, installations, performances, paintings, and videos focus on the disparity between the power and wealth of some, and the powerlessness and poverty of others in our globalised world.
Khaled’s work has been presented internationally including: SALTS Group Exhibition, Birsfelden, Switzerland (2017-2018); Chart Art Fair (2017), Copenhagen, Denmark; Haihara Art Centre, Tampere, Finland (2017); SUPERMARKET Art Fair, Stockholm (2017); Art Fair Suomi, Helsinki (2017); CMOOA -Collection’s Auction, Palace Es Saadi, Marrakech (2016); Exhibition Laboratory, Helsinki (2016-2017); 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London (2015); GVCC, Casablanca (2012-2017); Biennale OFF 4 Marrakech (2012); Contemporary Art Fair of Africa and the Mediterranean, Casablanca (2011), and many more. He was selected for the 2nd Prize for Artist of the New Generation, Morocco in 2014. His work Monitor Man received an Honorary Mention at Prix Ars Electronica 2018, Interactive Art + category.

Photography: Tani Simberg

Part of the Digital Weekender 2018