• Getxophoto
• Deadline: October 31st, 2024
• Prize: Exhibition in Spain + 500€ + Stay
• Theme: Rec
• Entry Fee: Yes
• REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE
First, we pressed the PAUSE button, then the PLAY button, and now we’re hitting REC. The round red symbol, universally recognizable on cameras and other electronic devices, derives its name from "record," signaling the act of saving, filming, or registering something. This simple action links us to one of the central themes in visual studies—the connection between image and memory—a concept that has fascinated influential thinkers like Walter Benjamin, Susan Sontag, and Georges Didi-Huberman. For centuries, the image has served as a medium for capturing moments, documenting history, and preserving collective memory. Yet, in an age where digital technologies dominate, how has this relationship between imagery and memory evolved? What remains of this profound connection in the era of contemporary visual technologies?
In today's throwaway culture, we no longer take photographs or record videos with the intent to cherish or preserve moments. Instead, we capture them fleetingly, only to share and forget them almost instantly. Social media platforms and the sheer ease of capturing digital content have created an overwhelming abundance of images, gradually dulling our emotional response to visual stimuli. Our sensitivity is worn thin, and what was once a poignant, personal visual memory has been reduced to noise. The proliferation of fake images and doctored content further complicates our understanding of reality, destabilizing the role of images as reliable documents. This visual manipulation, combined with the fact that many digital files are readable only by artificial intelligences, leaves us grappling with the implications of how we create, store, and understand visual records.
As if that weren’t enough, there’s the growing concern over the sustainability of this digital deluge. Data centers, where we store our personal and collective memories, demand enormous resources—both water and energy—to function. Their capacity is finite, and we face the unsettling reality that it may soon be impossible to store all the information we generate. This threatens the future of the archive, not only on a personal level but also as a cornerstone of civilization. The ability to preserve history, culture, and knowledge through images may be compromised, making us question what, if anything, will survive.
All of these factors signal that visual technologies are undergoing a profound paradigm shift. As we navigate this changing landscape, we are forced to reconsider fundamental questions: What is the difference between simply accumulating vast digital archives and telling meaningful stories? What is the future of images, and how will memory—constructed through visual records—be shaped in a world where recording is effortless, where data can be manipulated, and where the digital space feels both immaterial and infinite? In the upcoming edition of Getxophoto, we will delve into these urgent questions, exploring how the visual media arts are reinventing themselves in this new reality of extreme, easily manipulated, and seemingly endless REC.
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