Xanthe Dobbie’s Desktop Holiday is a triptych of digital collage loops. The three parts explore notions of fractured identity in the age of globalisation and instant travel. The work juxtaposes hyper-stimulating queer internet aesthetic with religious iconography, historical imagery and gathered footage of natural structures.

Audiovisual fragments are carefully curated in an unsettling mix of holiday snapshots, emojis, relaxation tracks, and ever-impending message alerts.

Desktop Holiday plays on ideas of a plugged-in society. Incapable of switching off, it continues infinitely – mesmerising, banal and infuriating. Each loop is made up of sourced digital content and recorded footage of the Catholic Island of Malta, shot by the artist in late 2016 on an iPhone 5. The collages are then superimposed onto “paradise themed” stock backgrounds; these include ‘Welcome to Heaven’ and ‘Holiday Sparkle’.

A digital exhibition, touring with NETS Victoria.

Venues