i didn't come here for love

In the digital age, the global communication infrastructure has inevitably transformed how we explore and interpret a place, transcending tangible settings and creating a hybrid space encompassing reality and virtual reality. A surge of location-based social networking apps has emerged through smartphones, the internet, and GPS systems, providing innovative ways for individuals to connect and collaborate, particularly within marginalised LGBTQ communities. ‘What are you looking for?’, ‘Where are you?’, ‘Can you host?’... These desire-driven private messages circulating between nearby strangers weave new relational networks that overlay the visible landscape and further blur the boundaries between the physical and digital realms.

Upon relocating to Nipaluna/Hobart in Lutruwita/Tasmania, an island south of the Australian mainland, Adam Hsieh endeavoured to navigate the unfamiliar environment by observing kunanyi/Mount Wellington, a 1200-meter-high summit, visible from nearly every part of the city. Intrigued by the dominant geographical feature, Hsieh captured multiple wide-angle video footage of the peak using a fixed camera from different standpoints, presenting it as a guiding landmark to orient himself. Simultaneously, Hsieh mapped his virtual surroundings by engaging with nearby users on Grindr, a geosocial app for gay men and more, which introduced an affective layer to the five-channel video installation 'i didn't come here for love'. Despite responses ranging from flirty to icy, the intimate exchanges revealed how non-material characteristics play pivotal roles in shaping our experience of a place, complementing the material aspects. Whether manifested in bodily selves, technological selves, or a combination of both, the inherent human desire to touch, feel and understand the external world persists.