Life Sharing
Originally commissioned by the Walker Art Center, Life Sharing was a radical gesture of self-surveillance. For three years, the artists made the contents of their home computer accessible to the public. All of the contents–including files, emails, bank statements, and so on–were available in real time to be read, copied, and downloaded. Made long before social media’s widespread influence, the work pointed towards the blurring of public and private spheres that characterize our current moment. A performance, a provocation, and a site of exchange, the project was based on the idea that “file sharing=life sharing,” suggesting that life had become inextricably enmeshed in digital culture and the network.
Life Sharing is a real time sharing system based on Linux. Since January 2001 the main 0100101110101101.ORG's computer has been turned into a transparent webserver. Any user has free and unlimited access to all contents: read texts, see images, download software, check 01's private mail, get lost in this huge data maze. Life Sharing is a brand new concept of net architecture turning a website into a hardcore personal media for complete digital transparency. Permanent infotainment from the peer to peer generation. Privacy is stupid.
At the end of 2003 Life Sharing has been interrupted, after more than 3 years of free and unlimited access.