The multidisciplinary practice of Vienna-based artist Christiane Peschek explores the connections between the human experience and technology, and takes a closer look at hyperrealities, transhumanist theory and digital life. 

Working at the intersections of digital, physical, and intellectual space, Peschek is interested in larger socio-cultural systems, societal structures and ecologies, and their relation to human nature and behavior, the body and transformation. She uses her own body and experiences as a point of departure when reflecting about obsessive beauty hype and associated manipulations, especially through our exposure to social media. She works extensively with Instagram and assesses her feed, algorithms, and their effects on our behaviors and thought processes.. Technology allows us to manipulate and optimize ourselves, and create illusions and alternative versions that we present in digital and virtual spaces; but doing so affects how we perceive ourselves in the physical realm

With unattainable beauty standards pervasive on social media, many apps are available for alteration and editing. Peschek captures this obsession by creating grotesque and extremely exaggerated depictions of beauty standards via the overuse of those apps and by re-programming filters. She retouches images digitally and physically with paint to address notions of beauty from a dual vantage point, representing both sides of the screen, while critiquing the commodified nature of digital femininity. By doing so, she also creates an extensive archive that serves as commentary on technological developments and its impact on human life.

During her stay at Fountainhead, Peschek closely examined Miami, its cultural context and its unique identity. “Miami feels like stepping into a vibrant, eclectic, and visually saturated Instagram feed—where every moment invites you to savor the many joys of life. Fountainhead provided me with the ideal environment to reconnect with my work, my body, and life itself—an experience I will cherish in my heart for years to come.” 

So how do we function in digital and real spaces and their intersections? Untangling these complex relationships and circumstances continues to move Peschek’s work forward in the often immersive spaces she creates that address all our senses. Seeing the art does not suffice. We are required to show a willingness to be immersed in the artistic presentation and in the world she continues to invite us into.