Caroline Delieutraz Explores Trolling Culture at 22,48 m2

Caroline Delieutraz's exhibition 'When We Were Trolls (WWWT)' at Galerie 22,48 m2 in Paris (September 12 to October 26, 2019) delves into the world of online trolling. The artist, who works with internet content and forms, collaborated with a former troll named 'Aurélien,' active from the mid-2000s to mid-2010s. The show features three vertical HD videos (Monologue, Odyssée, Inflammables) where Aurélien, via synthesized voice and avatars, describes trolling as a 'sacerdose'—harassing strangers or celebrities with insults, obscene images, and personal data leaks. Fabric masks, inspired by virtual avatars, hang in the space, some with chains and shoes referencing IRL trolls. The third video explores Aurélien's hard drive containing thousands of files: forum archives, videos, photos mixing pornography, Nazi imagery, and altered profile pictures, alongside reproductions of classical paintings. Delieutraz also created a photographic frieze, 'Swipe Dream,' juxtaposing these iconographies. The exhibition critiques the failed utopian promises of the early internet, highlighting its darker outcomes.