Anna Vikhrova
Babysitter

The installation is centred around a large, soft sculpture created on the basis of field research carried out with children. During interviews, the children drew images connected to frightening or disturbing online content. The pictures were processed by a neural network and translated into three-dimensional form. The piece is tactile and inviting, while at the same time evoking unease. The various parts of its body encapsulate a mixture of interest, fear, shame, and vulnerability.

This work explores the phenomenon of digital babysitting, whereby parents hand their children over to the “supervision” of video platform algorithms. Along with safe content, children are regularly exposed to hyperstimulating animations, scenes of violence, and sexualized imagery—content that is difficult to control and which can be psychologically damaging. Instead of focusing on the videos themselves, the project focuses on the inner experience of a child being left alone to deal with a deluge of conflicting signals.

The interactive component gives viewers the opportunity to experience this sensation firsthand. In real time, the system processes the viewer’s image, creating a personalized digital “monster”, an extension of the central sculpture born out of the viewer’s reactions and associations. The project demonstrates how algorithmic environments contribute to the formation of children’s fears and fantasies, while adults’ feeling of control over content is largely illusory.