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Video Transcript

“Hi, I‘m s3r3nity_sp3llcast3rx2001.

My magic weaves through the very fabric of existence,
mending wounds of the land and soul alike.

You hear the gentle whispers of a world transformed.
No longer confined by the shackles of oppressive systems,
our craft extends beyond the manipulation of arcane forces.

Our spells serve as catalysts for social transformation,
unraveling the threads of inequality and injustice woven by
centuries of capitalist and patriarchal dominance.

As the world teetered on the brink of despair,
many believed that the forces of capitalism and patriarchy
had tightened their grip too firmly for liberation to
ever be possible.

For too long, we‘ve been conditioned to believe that there
is no alternative to the system that exploits, marginalizes,
and divides us.

The weight of inequality, environmental degradation, and
social unrest seemed insurmountable, casting a shadow of
hopelessness over humanity.

We dared to dream of a different reality. We refused to
accept the narrative of inevitability that capitalism had
woven around us.

While heroes brandished swords of conquest, we were weaving
spells illuminating the shadows cast by the structures of power.

As the dungeon lords reveled in their hoarded riches, we were
seeking not gold, but the alchemy of tenderness and care.

We embrace the complexities of our shared reality, the
interconnectedness of all beings, and recognize that our
journey remains fraught with uncertainty and ambiguity.

The power to shape our world lies not in the hands of the few,
but in the collective imagination of the many”

In our current times, when politics and war make us feel helpless and scared about present and future developments and humanity seems to be manufacturing its own destruction, my work aims to create a space for tender gatherings and collective imagining of futures beyond our current political and socio- economic system with a focus on relationships between the body, nature and technology, intimacy, community, and care. The resources for these futures have existed throughout different (sub)cultures and ethnicities and have been repressed by imperialist and capitalist forces throughout history and in the present. My work explores queer/feminist thinking about art and media in relationship to patriarchy and capitalism: ”Patriarchal power vs. [...] knowledge of the multitude" (Paul B. Preciado: Testo Junkie; 2008).

In her essay "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction" (1986) Ursula K. LeGuin states that our society and culture is built on a patriarchal narrative and historical storytelling that revolves around violence, rooted in man’s invention of the weapon. LeGuin proposes a different narrative that doesn't begin with the weapon but with a much earlier invention or discovery/invention: the carrier bag (Elizabeth Fisher: Women's Creation: Sexual Evolution and the Shaping of Society; 1979). I'm interested in this attempt at rethinking and retelling history (past/present/future) through the formation of knowledge and wisdom beyond the narratives and mechanisms of patriarchy and the imagination of futures that are centered around care, love, togetherness, and community.

In the warmly lit, dim gallery space that smells of fresh dirt there is a gravestone-like object leaning against the back wall of the gallery that-through illuminated letters-invites us to step in. It is an old tabletop covered in beautifully symmetrical, mirrored dark wood, printed with carved and backlit writing, prompting us to: “listen for the relics of the future*”, a quote from Marc Fisher’s Essay on “Hauntology”, that formulates a theory about future(s) as virtuality(/ies) that already influence(s) the present and thus, actualize themselves (Fisher, Mark: "What is Hauntology?" 2012).

Contemporary aesthetics and design principles applied to the creation and mass-production of most everyday objects reinforce the capitalist values of functionality, efficiency, and the notion of the individual (body) as a closed off entity. My speculative furniture pieces propose different aesthetics that question and invert these values and purposes. They raise questions about the relationship of subjects and their bodies to objects and their purpose, as well as about the potential of objects to contain narrative and their role in the construction of reality. They are simultaneously sculpture and interactive element, purposefully pushing the boundaries of the gallery space by referencing a weird hybrid of domestic sphere and landscape. The upholstered furniture takes form in almost organic, mountain-like shapes that are also surprisingly ergonomic, providing space for bodies in their curved dents and valleys. Around the edges, the satin fabric is hemmed and equipped with grommets; the shapes woven together by silver audio cables. Each shape is accompanied by a little side table/cup holder and surrounded by dirt. The dirt mirrors the shapes of the furniture and holds little shards of aluminum.

The video game scene is displayed on two TVs, each positioned within close proximity to one of the furniture pieces. To view the video and read the text in the dialogue box, one must sit on the furniture or get really close. The positioning and proportion of the screen to the furniture creates a relationship within the space that allows visitors to actively focus on the digital component of the work for the time they focus on it.

The video begins with a title image followed by a zoom-in on the character and a dialogue box popping up. This camera movement and appearance of the speech bar is employed regularly in video games to switch from active ‘play’ mode into conversations with non-playable characters (NPCs) within game play or in animated “cut scenes”. This type of scene references conversations with side characters whose spoken words are not essential to the game’s storyline, serving instead as an ambient mechanism for revealing information about the game’s world through comments on personal experiences or complaints about something work-related, allowing us to infer the social and economic systems predominant in the game. The font, as well as the appearance of being typed live, has been taken from the original Pokémon game boy games.

The text spoken by the character was created through a multilayered collaborative process between my own writing about some of my favorite theorist’s works and ideas and ChatGPTs translation of it into archetypal fantasy gaming language. The character seems to speak from a future perspective, narrating the story of how her guild of spellcasters collectively contributed to the downfall of capitalism and patriarchy by channeling the “collective imagination of the many” centered around hope, tenderness, and care.