denial-of-service
25 June 2016
Denial-of-Service was selected for the Unnoticed Art Festival's second edition and was held 25th of June 2016 in Nijmegen.
For our food supply we are increasingly dependent on supermarkets. What we consider the reality of a supermarket is actually a highly controlled environment. With marketing techniques, loyalty cards, security cameras and the way the interior is arranged our customer experience is carefully directed. Special offers are there to attract buyers and in addition there should be just enough stock so nobody leaves the store disappointed.
Denial-of-Service (DoS) was a customer's research. It investigated how and if it is possible to influence from outside, the shopping experience inside the supermarket. Together with Youri Appelo, Caz Egelie and myself we appeared at the entrance of a supermarket and gave free advise on the best available deals.
With Denial-of-Service we tried to mobilize customers to behave differently in order to question the applied marketing strategies. To create an Out-of-Stock experience (OOS -which means an empty shelf) we convinced people to buy a discounted pineapple. Our purpose was not only to activate a dialogue with this controlled environment, but also to reconsider our position as customers.
Denial-of-Service was an artistic research and customer's collaboration inspired by the concept of The organisation. The organisation was founded in 2011 to make knowledge and resources available for the cultural innovation of our society.
Denial-of-Service was not possible without the generous support of Youri Appelo, Caz Egelie, Frans van Lent, Unnoticed Art Festival crew, AH clients between 11:00 and 12:00 hours, shop owners and everyone else discussing the intentions of this intervention.
This project was mentioned in the following press: Trendbeheer, #strangemessenger
Best regards, Edwin Stolk.
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images | video | Unnoticed Art Festival
(Photos were made by Youri Appelo and Edwin Stolk)