SUNLAMPS... AND OTHER FORMS OF ENLIGHTENMENT

Over the duration of their 1 month MakerSpace residency, Cruz will workshop a multi-channel video
art and performance piece that follows a hybrid human-ogre, Gloria, reckoning with her failing acting
aspirations in her small digitally rendered room. The work will reflect on anxiety, materialism and
technocapitalism as a part horror, drama and satire.

Gloria wanted to be an actor. Now, a brand ambassador for a fictitious digital self-app called BetterHell
(a satire of BetterHelp) she is required to film a daily testimonial documenting her successes - while in
actuality she grapples with intense feelings of isolation, dissatisfaction and social deprivation. She
surrounds herself with fad objects: SmartHome devices, skin-care, massagers, drinks and clothing that
promise a better quality of life to no avail... when suddenly her sunlamp bursts...

This humorous post-human story will analyze the ramifications of digital economies, authenticity and
pseudo-luxury. Gloria moves through the challenges of a networked life and the farces exploitative tech
corporations have promised us in Cruz's brash and dizzying style, to suggest that these absurd theatrics
may not be so different from our own.

About the Artist:

Marissa Sean Cruz is a digital multimedia and video performance artist from Kjipuktuk (so-called Halifax).
Cruz’s topics of interest are related to labour, power and surveillance as seen through digital platforms
and pop culture. Their experimental videos comprise found footage, 3D modelling, sound design and
costumed performances to look at value systems with critical sensibility. These satirical works aim to
capture a fast-paced contemporary present and envision possible, liberatory futures.

 2025