Etienne Bouteillé

Couille.exe is a Twitter automaton, posting abstract images on a regular basis. The shapes evolve constantly and are reminiscent of the human body, using organic features such as hair and realistic human skin. Inspired to me while living a long distance relationship, this work is a reflection around the themes of privacy and intimacy in a world where the sharing of picture through digital media is prevalent. Sharing private pictures between two individuals can be a way to get closer to the other. By accepting to share our naked selves we demonstrate an absolute trust in the other to keep those images private. At the same time, the sharing of unsolicited private picture is also spreading, and we see quantity of women complaining about this very particular spam. In a way it can be understood as a unreciprocated desire of intimacy, a shortcut to love but never leading anywhere because of its lack of empathy and inability to see the whole picture.

Somewhat involuntary bystanders in those conversations are the countless algorithm, private or governmental, that spy on the conversations and try to understand them, classify them, find patterns in them. Here I tried to imagine what would be the output of such an algorithm if asked to represent human intimacy. Seeing those images shared only between individuals in intimate relationships, it starts to classify them as the pinnacle of intimacy. But much like its humans counterpart, the robot is blinded by its inability to see the full picture, doubled by its inability to create meaningful contact with a human being. The result is this robot, spamming the internet with private pictures, in hopes of being able to create meaningful contact.

You will find the bot on twitter @couilledotexe