Video artwork about myth and technology.

In Irish mythology, the Féth Fíada was a mist or cloak that was used by members of the Tuatha de Dannann to make them invisible from human sight. The veil allowed them to act in this world without repercussion, unseen but powerful.

Contemporary computing technologies are shrouded in many veils that obscure how they work, how they are made, and how their used parts are disposed. Everything from the inherent bias in social media or search engines to the invisible labour that extracts, transports, packages and delivers these items is a veil. Each time one is revealed, another seems to appear, obscuring the full picture. One way to explore this complex issue is to consider it from an ontology that is not rational, but instead is magical or mythical.

Shane Finan presents a 3-screen visual essay from the perspective of myth and magic, reminding us of the earthly properties of material technologies while also considering the extraordinary depth of interconnections in these objects. Beginning with a fresh consideration of his first mobile phone, he unravels dreamlike layers of complexity between technology, object and magic. Attention is focussed on the central screen through text, the dominant form of communication in mobile devices, while landscape images of those affected by these technologies are kept in the peripheries, on two other screens.