S7 Ep1: More, More, More | 24/7

Artist Benjamin Grosser explores the notion of ‘more’ in a 24/7 world. The 24/7 podcast invites artists to explore the non-stop nature of modern life.  Extracted from every video appearance Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg made between 2004 and 2018, Benjamin Grosser edited together the relative measures that crop up regularly in Zuckerberg’s speeches and interviews: ‘more’, ‘grow’, ‘50%’, ‘a million’, repeated ad nauseum. Grosser’s projects aim to draw attention to Facebook’s accumulative mindset, revealing the inherent design of social media platforms which keep you addicted through showing you how many likes, interactions, and comments you have. As with Instagram, Facebook is also now considering hiding the ‘like count’ as research has shown it creates anxiety in users if their friends’ posts get more likes than their own. Featuring contributions from exhibition curator Sarah Cook and Jonathan Reekie, co-curator of 24/7 and Director of Somerset House.  The exhibition 24/7 - A Wake Up Call For Our Non-Stop World at Somerset House takes visitors on a multi-sensory journey from the cold light of the moon to the fading warmth of sunset through five themed zones and contains over 50 multi-disciplinary works that will provoke and entertain.  With every moment seemingly an opportunity to connect and work, unrelenting pressure to produce and consume, sleep itself monitored and commodified, how we cope is one of the most urgent contemporary issues affecting us all. Inspired by Jonathan Crary’s book of the same name, 24/7 holds up a mirror to our always-on culture and invites you to step outside of your day-to-day routine to engage, reflect and reset. The exhibition runs at Somerset House until 23 February 2020 Producer: Eleanor Scott Sound Design: Harry Murdoch Mixed by Nick Ryan