Hanna Haaslahti: Ancestors

Haaslahti’s work merges the faces of visitors to generate a unique virtual lineage with its descendants.

The experience begins with a surprising encounter – meeting a digital double that resembles one’s own image. A novel imaging device acts as a portal between the physical and virtual dimensions of the installation. Through their virtual counterparts, the audience members become actors in the unfolding story. The portal creates an ancestor of each viewer, which in turn produces descendants together with the likenesses of others.

In Haaslahti’s art, technological development provides new perspectives and tools. Her works are often immaterial projections in space, engaging in active interaction with the viewer. Hanna Haaslahti (b. 1969) is a media artist based in Helsinki.