Dopamine Loop, 2019, fleece, silk, 105x70x30 cm.
This textile embodies the physical experience of being lost inside a ‘dopamine loop’. Dopamine is a chemical released by neurons in our brain, triggered by feelings of anticipation and reward-seeking. In turn, the chemical activates our curiosity, motivates us to seek out and search, eliciting feelings of longing and desire. The term ‘dopamine loop’ is used to describe the modern-day phenomenon of blithely scrolling on our smart phones, seeking out the next image or headline, but never reaching a point of satiation. There is no internal ‘off-switch’, making it difficult to emerge from this virtual space without an external circuit-breaker.
Within the ‘Dopamine Loop’, felted wool absorbs all other distractions and obstructs the possibility of escape. We catch sight of glimmering flashes, an inference to the promised treasures lying ahead. We surrender to the possibility of discovering digital gold, encircled by shimmering possibility, whilst the real world whirls around us.
Image Credit: Kathryn Bird (Image 1) & Emma Peters.
Shown as part of the Seed Stitch Collective’s show, Dopamine at Gaffa Gallery, Sydney.