Anan Fries

Our smartphones are extensions of our bodies, rarely more than half a meter away from us. We get upset when they lose power. After all, they keep us connected, navigate us through the world, help us partake in capitalist struggles, mediate our intimacy. But beneath their perfect surfaces, bad vibes simmer. Our phones are built on systems of exploitation and extraction. They keep weaving us deeper into a technofascist fabric of surveillance and algorithmic control. They facilitate the harvesting of our every tap, our every move, for quiet resale. Our phones are karmic catastrophes.
What if those negative energies could be cleansed? Place your phone on the altar to activate the purifying ritual.

Commissioned by @hek_basel HEK House of Electronic Arts Basel. PURGR is on view at New Rituals [for the End of the World] until August 9, 2026.

PURGR, 2026. 3D print, LCD screens, Raspberry Pis, ToF sensor.
By: Anan Fries
Sounddesign: Ricardo Eizirik @auto_timer @ricardoeizirik
3d print middle piece: Caroline Barrueco @ccaarroollliinnee
Sensor support: Rodolfo Acosta

Pics 1-3 by Franz Wamhof for HEK