MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In today’s fast-paced digital world, where everything is instant and always online, Filipino internet archivist Chia Amisola wants people to pause and reflect. Instead of constant scrolling, they invite a look back to a time when accessing the internet meant going to a physical space — when surfing the web required logging in, not just waking up.
At the recent Art Fair Philippines 2025 held from February 21 to 23, 2025 at the Ayala Triangle in Makati City, Chia’s exhibit offered a nostalgic feeling. Stepping into her creation felt like logging into a memory — suddenly, it was 2008 again. I was back at my grandmother’s house in Dasmariñas, Cavite. The wooden TV stand was draped in lace, a stack of Meteor Garden CDs sat beside it, and a freshly bought pirated DVD of A Very Special Love rested on top of our JVC media player. But there was no time to linger — I had to change my school uniform and sprint to the “compshop” (computer shop), where two hours of gaming meant hours of hunger. The ultimate trade-off: saving my allowance just to play Grand Chase with my classmates.
Chia’s KAKAKOMPYUTER MO YAN! (“That’s what you get for using the computer!”) isn’t just an exhibit — it’s a time machine for anyone who grew up in the golden age of compshops, Pisonet stalls, and PC-exclusive online games. Her brainchild is more than nostalgia; it’s a living archive, a platform that commissions, preserves, and amplifies works at the crossroads of new media, art, and technology, with a spotlight on third-world internet and DIY networking cultures.
Thanks to Art Fair Philippines 2025, Chia’s exhibit — previously showcased in New York, San Francisco, Berlin, and Singapore — is now within reach for those who lived its reality. This interactive time capsule features a shrine to ILOVEYOU virus creator Onel De Guzman, a fully functional karaoke machine to sing that Kitchie Nadal medley, actual Pisonet computers — minus the worn-out, smelly headphones — and if you’re really eagle-eyed you would see the infamous Jepoy Dizon meme around. Truly a distinct departure from the other works nearby.
Unlike traditional exhibitions where art is meant to be observed, not touched, Chia’s exhibit flips the script — here, interaction isn’t just encouraged, it’s essential. For her, this isn’t just a creative choice; it’s a response to a growing problem she’s long noticed in the digital age: our shrinking sense of connection with the internet as a physical, communal space.
“Over the past decades, I’m sure we all noticed that all of our devices became smaller, more mobile, and more a part of us, and a part of our bodies,” they shared with me during an interview at this year’s Art Fair. “There’s Pisonets, the karaoke, even these types of monitors … they allude to a time that where technology is a place you went to — kind of like you have to intentionally go there. As supposed to today, when we have access to so much information at the tap of our hands. It doesn’t feel human. I don’t think we were ever meant to have this instantaneous connection to everything. It feels a lot less intentional […] and the smallest of technology ends up making people feel more isolated and fragmented.”
The technology on display may be bulkier, older, and heavier, but it carries something today’s mobile technology lacks — a sense of shared experience. Every CRT monitor, clunky keyboard, and humming CPU isn’t just hardware; it’s a portal to a time when the internet was a place you went to, not something that followed you everywhere.
“When it was you and your family at the karaoke machine during an event, it was like a place — a gathering spot — and that’s what we wanted to do in this exhibition: how can technology makes us feel together again? Physically together, not more separated, or isolated.”
The exhibit isn’t just about triggering endless déjà vu — it’s rooted in a deeply personal “you had to be there” moment for Chia. For them, that moment was 2022, when President Bongbong Marcos won the presidency. As history teetered on the edge of revisionism, Reuters reported a surge in panic buying of books on his father’s dictatorship, while The Guardian detailed archivists racing to preserve records of Martial Law atrocities. At a time when digital memory felt fragile, Chia’s work became a battle cry: to remember is to resist.
“I remember when the Marcoses entered the administration, the documents on government websites were taken down, all official archives that were presented online were being deleted. And people were scrambling online to get that information,” they shared. “That led me to taking a larger interest in making internet art, internet archival, and stories of Filipinos in the internet.”
Setting up the exhibit was no easy feat for Chia. One of the biggest hurdles? Access to materials — an ironic challenge for an internet-based art exhibit. Growing up immersed in third-world internet, Chia understands the reality of making do with what’s available. Bootlegs, torrents, and scraped content weren’t just conveniences; they were necessities in a landscape where costs were often “incredibly prohibitive.”
“I think the amazing thing about digital technology is that scarcity is almost non-existent,” they added. “You don’t need to have one copy if you can distribute it infinitely. All of its legalities are centered around restricting access to information. Don’t even think about the economics — they’re centered around capital. I think the core of it is that it’s an act of resistance in a way.”
KAKAKOMPYUTER MO YAN! is curated by Chia Amisola as part of ARTFAIRPH/Digital exhibits. Works of these artists are included in the exhibit:
- Agustin Crisostomo
- Angeline Marie Michael Meitzler
- Anton Romero
- Beatris Cabana
- Carmine and Fabi
- Chia Amisola
- Czyka Tumaliuan
- Elise Ofilada
- Emmanuel Fabella
- Gab Brioso
- Isola Tong
- Jared Jonathan Luna
- Jord Earving Gadingan,
- Kwago
- Kuya Marlon (deepweb dumaguete)
- Leon Leube
- Mac Andre Arboleda
- Nikita Sacha
- No Core (Silke Talastas & Daniella Jabines)
- Tàtam & Ijah
- Waki Badz
Check out Chia’s work on Instagram and visit KAKAKOMPYUTER MO YAN!’s website for more information about the exhibit and its artists. Learn more about Art Fair Philippines 2025 at artfairphilippines.com/afp2025/ or follow the event on Facebook and Instagram.
adobo Magazine is an official online media partner of Art Fair Philippines 2025.
