Overview
Cohort Sharing to share a peek at going-ins in on A-I: Algorithmic Identities for CiD atelier up till this point. The Overview presentation covers the context, summary of precedents and body of work, design statement, and next steps for Semester 2.
Constructive Feedback
During the cohort sharing, I had the opportunity to share my project with the entire cohort, and the response was encouraging. Several peers mentioned that my presentation made the topic much easier to understand — something I had been worried about given how abstract and content heavy datafication and algorithmic identities can be. One peer even shared that it was “good I’m doing this project” because it addresses an important topic that more people should know about.
At the same time, the lecturers offered critical and necessary feedback. They emphasised that regardless of whether the exhibition is physical or virtual, the guiding statement must be obvious and consistently reinforced. Participants need to feel like they are entering a system the moment they step into the exhibition environment; the screen, interface, or space must immediately communicate that experience. Aesthetic exploration cannot replace conceptual clarity, the concept has to lead the design. This pushed me to reflect on the gaps in my current framing.
Overall, the session reassured me that the foundation is strong, but also highlighted the importance of sharper framing, clearer entry points, and more intentional design decisions as I move into the next phase.
Moving Forward
I need to deepen my understanding of what data systems actually collect, what types of data are rarely collected, and what data might be considered “useless” from a corporate or algorithmic perspective. This will help me articulate the stakes of my project more clearly. The lecturers also reminded me that my concept should be understandable even to a thirteen-year-old, which is a useful benchmark, it forces me to avoid unnecessary abstraction and ensure that the core message is immediately graspable.
The title itself reads like a fleeting moment, a casual observation that becomes unsettling upon second thought. The “dead rat” functions as both a literal object and a metaphor for urban anxieties, decay, and the unnoticed elements that populate Singapore’s hyper-clean visual landscape.
Leow often uses such motifs to reveal how personal perception interacts with public space. The artwork captures the tension between what is seen, what is assumed, and what is projected onto the environment. The ambiguity invites viewers to consider how quickly the mind fills in meaning, how memory distorts, and how the mundane can suddenly become charged with symbolic weight.
A peer pointed this out during feedback and suggested I explore exhibition spaces like this, liminal zones where people don’t expect “art,” but where meaning can be more sharply felt. Her comment made me reconsider the spatial possibilities for my own pillar on digital exhibition design. Instead of defaulting to white-cube or screen-based environments, perhaps the power lies in contextual placement, showing algorithmic processes in unexpected spaces that heighten their relevance.
This carpark exhibition becomes a reminder that the space itself can carry conceptual weight. It prompts me to rethink how my future installations can use location not as a backdrop, but as part of the narrative.