Instigated by today’s platform capitalism and the attention economy, identity-building has become a more mediated process, shifting the focus from individual identities to a collective, socially constructed, marketable self. Within this frame, the notion of “performance” seems to be taking center stage. Not only identity evaluation mechanisms such as likes, views, and ratings are becoming the norm; we will now witness millions of users navigate the metaverse “embodying” a non-fungible version of themselves. Unsurprisingly, “performative activism” and “performance anxiety” are making headlines. Through two essays and a piece of autofiction, we bounce back and forth between true and performed, theory and fiction, self-awareness and self-mythology, ego and gender, to interrogate how the algorithmic experience both pulls from identity and shapes it. Read PERFORMANCE REVIEW, the research survey from KALEIDOSCOPE SS22, with contributions by @oliviawhittick, @mckenziewark3000, and @pablo__larios. Download the PDF via link in bio. Artwork: PWR