NGV Limited Edition - Artek Halpern-Laurence, Upload Me Now!

Colour screenprint, drypoint, laster print collage and fibre-tipped pen
Approximately A2 in size

For the Print Portfolio, Halpern-Laurence has created a multicolour screenprint responding to visions of the ‘Metaverse’ and ‘Web3’ currently being peddled by Facebook, which founder Mark Zuckerberg described as ‘an embodied internet where you’re in the experience, not just looking at it’. The piece was inspired by a quote lifted from a Meta keynote, where the presenter declared that ‘we are already living in the Metaverse’. To overcome our ‘clunky and rudimentary’ interactions with this hybrid physical-and-digital reality, the company proposed using VR headsets. Halpern-Laurence gently satirises the techno-utopianism of Silicon Valley, whose bold claims regarding new technologies either misrepresent pressing real-world concerns, such as climate change and human inequality, or ignore them entirely. His playful take on the monthly calendar turns our days into a game of snakes and ladders, including reminders to ‘Breathe! Connect to nature! Work! Walk the dog!’, parodying the platitudes spouted by productivity culture.

Artek Halpern-Laurence Upload me now! 2022–23; colour screenprint, drypoint, laster print collage and fibre-tipped pen; ed. 1/15. Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2022
© Artek Halpern-Laurence

This item is a limited edition.

Only 1 edition copy per customer – multiple purchases will be refunded.

No discounts apply.

Any orders with an applied discount will be refunded as this item can not be discounted.

Limited edition sales are final - refunds, cancellations and exchanges cannot be accepted.

International orders are subject to import duties, taxes and delivery service charges that are the responsibility of the customer.