What is the optimal number of social ties for a human being?

 

British anthropologist Robert Dunbar identified a direct correlation between the size of the neocortex in primates and the average size of their social groups.

Based on this data, he calculated that the optimal number of stable social relationships for a human is 150.

This figure, now known as Dunbar’s Number, finds consistent validation across diverse historical periods and locations: it is the estimated population of a typical Neolithic village and the standard size of a basic unit in the Roman army.

In 2010, Dunbar conducted a study of Facebook social networks and concluded that his theory holds true even in the digital realm.

Despite the fact that some users accumulate hundreds or thousands of “friends” online, the average person is capable of maintaining effective social interaction with no more than 150 contacts!

 

Based on above-mentioned, I would like to mention that situated at the intersection of two temporal coordinates tradition and contemporarily we are compelled to address innovation through the evolving synergy between external pressures and the internal reflections of our own consciousness.

This project explored the shifting fundamental principles of communication between the public sphere and the individual, mediated by the rapid evolution of internet technologies.

 

In our days, as individuals curate their own websites and social media profiles, they acquire a lived experience in an alternative dimension. Digital space has become the primary architect of mass orientation.

This new reality often leads to a diminished sense of physical, tangible space.

As we shift our lives into virtual cinemas, news cycles, and marketplaces even reproducing the attributes of an “ideal state” through virtual cities and digital marriages we construct a convincing simulacrum of authentic existence.

 

Social ties have entered a new evolutionary phase, often characterized by a hurried abandonment of traditional values in identity formation.

These rapidly shifting goals and tools prompt us to question: where does the boundary lie today between 21st-century public spaces and the relatively autonomous realm of virtual expression?

Could the “manure of history” and its “avant-garde” coexist within a single accessible space, engaging in a rigorous discourse without compromising their respective autonomy?

 

This project seeked to answer these questions by re-evaluating public spaces and their constituent modules, which are now capable of fostering new communicative networks birthed by technology.

 

 

Implementation of the project:

 

Phase 1:

The project began with the distribution of specially designed visit cards throughout the public spaces of Krasnodar.

These materials contained visual and textual provocations inviting the public to join my network of “friends” on Facebook, which was the most prevalent social landscape in 2011.

 

Phase 2:

Throughout the project, I aimed not only to expand the quantitative and qualitative reach of this new “friendship” circle but also to harness this incoming information resource.

By involving participants in a new mode of public-social communication, I was processed their “friendship-accessible” photographic data for future exhibition representation.

 

Phase 3:

This stage manifested as a synchronized interaction between virtual and physical space via an interactive photo installation.

As the number of invited friends on Facebook grew, the project’s visual platform expanded accordingly.

The physical representation consisted of a series of photo frames. New photographic material, harvested from my Facebook network, was”uploaded” into their memory in real-time.

This process expanded the material-digital range, revealed the essence of how digital space integrated into the physical public sphere.

The images were arranged on custom-built shelving units, formed a minimalist installation embedded with interactive photographic elements.

 

Phase 4:

This phase involved the continuous replenishment of the digital database with incoming photographic components from my growing network of friends.

This process remained active throughout the duration of the exhibition.

Consequently, the project’s title serves as a live numerical ratio between the friends acquired during the project and the total number of connections on my Facebook profile.

 

 

 

The project was implemented as an interactive installation.

 

2011

“150 of 2880” Krasnodar Institute of Contemporary Art, Krasnodar (RU)

“Media Impact”, International Festival of Activist Art, ARTPLAY Design Centre, 4th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow (RU)

Financial support of the project:

Nikolai Moroz

 

Special thanks to:

ZIP art group (Eldar Ganeev, Evgeny Rimkevich, Vasily Subbotin, Stepan Subbotin)