MFA student Lena Chen debuted her collaborative work “Play4UsNow” as part of the Die Digitale Festival in Dusseldorf, Germany. Due to new coronavirus restrictions, many of the in person events have canceled, but “Play4UsNow” is available as a digital performance through November 4.
“Play4UsNow” is a collaboration between Chen, Esben Holk, and Stephanie Ballantine and features an all-sex worker cast and crew from five time zones. Dominatrices, cam models, and submissives unite in the online performance, which takes the form of a multi-player game with a unique price of admission: your privacy. Meet real-life sex workers exploring data as a mode of domination and submission, as you – the player – fuel their desires with your information, attention, and compensation. Navigate sexy pop-ups and CAPTCHAs to find the secret entry into a password-encrypted digital dungeon. Relinquish yourself to the control of targeted algorithms, social media conditioning, and hypnotic GIFS. “Play4UsNow” holds a mirror up to the digitalization of identity, keeping you hostage until you ransom your thoughts, emotions, and secrets. Indulge in the hot new fetish that will transform your relationship to technology, sex, and capital.