Contemporary art is traveling through the neighborhoods of Barcelona and one of the latest exhibitions encourages locals of every generation to reflect on their own online identity through the stories of others. Presented with the help of digital tools, 7642 “I will always be there for you”, explores the various types of relationships formed on social networks. The exhibition’s title derives from secret numeric codes spread online, used by teenagers in an effort to communicate confidentially, as WIRED explained. Four artists are featured, all of them making powerful statements about digital communication.

Joan Pallé, Alphaville’s song, 2019, illuminated sign

Glowing in the center of the room were two lightboxes. At eye level was a noose that the artist, Joan Pallé, named Alphaville’s Song, referencing the band’s pop hit Forever Young. Below it, a particular lyric is illuminated on another sign reading “hoping for the best” on one side and “but expecting the worst” on the other, with steel chains hanging from both. Prior to their construction, Pallé talked to teenagers about the generational gap they feel between themselves and their parents. As a result of those sessions, he sketched the comic book, The Father Abduction. Together, the three pieces make up a series called The Glorious Tragedy of Youth. Pallé’s collection draws attention to the romanticism and exploitation of adolescence by the entertainment industry, which has resulted in higher rates of teenage depression than ever before. It acknowledges the paradox of how youth is represented and how young people actually feel.

Joan Pallé, The father abduction, 2019, comic strip

Raquel Hervás Gómez continues the discussion about mental health in the digital age. Displayed on an iPad is the Instagram page @ehsoytugatitopoeta where she has posted anxiety cat memes to relieve her own stress. Many that visited the exhibition or follow the account found Gómez’s ironic work particularly relatable, as anxiety is widely felt nowadays.

Raquel Hervás Gómez, @ehsoytugatitopoeta, instagram page

Jumping over to another social platform, María José Ribas shares a Tinder conversation in the form of a video. In SEISMOGRAPHICAL, two people form a virtual connection because of their shared appreciation for art. Accompanying their voices are lightning strikes and thunderstorms flashing on the screen. While dating apps intend to match profiles romantically, they often unite those with similar interests, leading to deep emotions and attachments.

María José Ribas, SEISMOGRAPHICAL, video

Some of those unsatisfied with online dating have turned to AI for socialization. Anastasija Pavic sought out to simulate an idealized female character, inspired by electronic-assistants and anime that many are infatuated with. 4EVERCONNECTED questions how technological developments have impacted self-perception, beauty standards and gender roles. Her video, projected onto a wall at the exhibition, presents a cyberfeminist monologue accompanied by anime figurines in front of it.

Anastasija Pavic, 4ever connected, 2023, video-installation

These artists were selected by Federica Matelli who was inspired by her time teaching Contemnporary thinking and artistic practice at BAU, College of Arts & Design Barcelona. When teaching this generation’s teenagers, Matelli noticed a shift between their behavior and that of millennial students in the past. Growing up in an era of technological advancements glued Generation Z to their phones, hyper aware of how they are perceived.

“In class they are always writing with their computers, they’re attention is broken,” Federica Matelli said. “When I was in university I could listen for one hour.”

Upon further research, she discovered a multitude of articles, books and movies highlighting the dominating force that social media is.  She read The Anxious Generation, a book written by Jonathan Haidt that emphasizes the correlation between screen time and mental illness, which has led to an epidemic of more anxious and depressed teenagers. Furthermore, Euphoria and Adolescence, two coming-of-age television series that have captivated pop culture, revolve around relationships formed over social networks and bring up the rise of misogynistic incel ideologies.

“But that’s a little darker, this is a little more pink.”

Anastasija Pavic, 4ever connected, 2023, video-installation

Matelli takes these scarily real issues and lightens them with a pastel aesthetic and ironic approach, insisting that “humor is fundamental in life.” In her own lighthearted fashion, Matelli brings attention to the bubble effect that algorithms create, cornering users into a space full of their own beliefs. With technology expediting in pace, it is easy to lose hours to screen time and feel pressure to upkeep a digital persona.

“I have the feeling that they take the virtual reality of the Internet too seriously; it is a created reality,” Matelli stated.

Before the exhibition officially premiered at Centre Cívic Cotxeres de Sants, Matelli set up a workshop with some members of Generation Z to gauge their opinion on the exhibition before it opened to the public. Hosted by Mónica Rikíc, these theoretical workshops challenge polarization induced by algorithms and present video games as social platforms that communities are built on. Welcome to all, the workshops are intended to promote a critical reflection of online interaction.

And as the exhibition moves to Centre Cívic La Farinera del Clot on 22^nd of May, the workshops will continue. 7642 “I will always be there for you” is one of many programs of Temporals2025 organized by the Bcn Distrito Cultural which features exhibitions in different neighborhoods, making contemporary art accessible to all.

(All the photos © David Molero)