Masquerade explores the themes of information manipulation, journalism, and the dissolution of identity in the digital age. It examines how information has been systematically co-opted and controlled by big tech platforms. This performance highlights the paradox of digital visibility and the curated, often manipulated, flow of information. In an era where truth is filtered through algorithms and profit-driven platforms, journalists and individuals alike struggle to maintain authenticity while drowning in a sea of misinformation and commodified content. The performance draws on the ritual of doomscrolling, where endless consumption of digital content leaves one overwhelmed, anonymous, and disoriented. Our digital personas are curated, stored, and dislocated from physical reality, much like masks that both conceal and reveal facets of the self.
Through sound and visuals, Masquerade explores the tension between visibility and concealment, highlighting the irony of modern anonymity: we are shielded behind digital avatars yet more traceable than ever, with our actions meticulously cataloged in cloud-based networks. The dissolution of the self becomes central to the performance, mirroring the way digital platforms commodify identities and reduce individuals to data points as information passes through more and more nodes in the network, building increasing amounts of noise. The soundscape of peak virtual noise from cloud-based internet and algorithmic filtering is used to express this fragmentation and erasure, as participants navigate a space of anonymity, confronting the paradox of being both seen and disappearing in a world dominated by digital masks.
NúÚ P3A☭3 [Nuh Peace], a Bangkok-based multidisciplinary artist, fearlessly pushes the boundaries of art and performance, crafting a unique blend of fashion, performance, makeup, video, and party settings. Their thought-provoking work depicts the soundscapes of contemporary neoliberal capitalism and draws inspiration from marginalized groups such as the working class and queer culture, ranging from deconstructed club music to Saiyor music.
In late 2018, Nuh Peace pioneered “Cyber Baptism,” a conceptual space blending themes of political unrest, queerness, and religious iconography, manifested as an experimental post-apocalyptic church party. In early 2022, they broadened their creative scope to engage with the emerging research field of “Resilience Discourse,” uncovering the way in which neoliberalism deregulates concepts like “diversity” and “multiculturalism” as widespread norms for the return of human capital, status, and other forms of recognition and recompense. They have been selected to participate in transmediale x CTM Festival 2023 night at Berghain, showcasing their cutting-edge collaborative project M3MBAP, which critiques contemporary pop culture’s recycling of cultural waste into new resources. Recently, Nuh Peace was selected to spin as one of the DJs at Boiler Room Bangkok 2023.