Pilvi Takala: Admirer

Stigter van Doesburg, Amsterdam

January 26 – February 23, 2019

“You don’t like drama but it is not really drama because it is virtual.”
– Anonymous, Admirer

In 2015, Finnish artist Pilvi Takala initiated the project , in which she and a host of writers served as digital interlocutors to anyone who texted a specific number during specific hours over a set period. “Send an SMS to 04573963166. Invisible Friend will text you right back,” read the poster, which was distributed around Helsinki. The service emphasized confidentiality and anonymity, on the part of both participants and responders. Rupturing this system, one participant discovered who was behind the project and bombarded Takala with increasingly