melanie bonajo. Progress vs Regress

melanie bonajo’s installation Progress vs. Regress (2016) explores how technological innovation shapes human relationships. It focuses on older individuals who have experienced some of the most dramatic technological and digital transformations. Through their personal and moving stories, the work reveals the challenges faced by a generation attempting to adapt to a society driven by constant progress and speed.

The piece examines how technological advancement reshapes attitudes towards work, time, money, and emotions. This shift also affects how older people are perceived: they are often seen as no longer economically productive and, as a result, pushed to the margins of society – rarely visible in either public life or visual culture.

Playfully humorous and experimental, the work invites viewers to reconsider their perceptions of older people and to reflect on their own relationship with rapid technological development, information anxiety, and its impact on contemporary life.

melanie bonajo is an artist, filmmaker, and activist whose work addresses the conditions of contemporary life, including the erosion of intimacy and increasing isolation in a technologised world. Their practice proposes alternative, non-consumerist ways of forming connections, intimacy, and emotional understanding. Their work often centres on socially marginalised groups and emphasises the importance of community, equality, and body politics.

melanie bonajo represented the Netherlands at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. Their work has been presented at institutions including Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Haus der Kunst (Munich), and Tate Modern (London).

Curators
Agnė Kuprytė, Miglė Survilaitė

Architect
Théo Demans

Producing architect
Dominykas Šavelis

Graphic designer
Monika Janulevičiūtė

Translator
Emilija Ferdmanaitė

Editors
Audra Kairienė, Gemma Lloyd

Artwork featured on the exhibition’s poster
melanie bonajo, Progress vs. Regress, 2016
HD film, 54′ 37”
Courtesy of the artist and AKINCI