Trickster, Teacher, Chaos, Clay
CRATE Studio Residency, June - November 2020
Digital artist residency (Trickster, Teacher, Chaos, Clay) supported by CRATE Studio in Margate, in collaboration with Durham Art Gallery in Canada, and curated by Yero Timi-Biu, to develop and research work in response to the current political climate, with reference to Octavia E Butler’s unfinished ‘Earthseed’ series of parables about humanity’s uncertain future. The work can also be found exhibited online on CRATE's website.
Below is a four-part series of audio discussions exploring various topics of interest from the two books, 'Parable of the Sower' and 'Parable of the Talents'. The text is delivered in a meditative voice, aiming to create an introspective environment whose slightly unnatural cadence prevents the listener from feeling completely at ease. The thoughts and ideas are therefore conveyed in a way that lends them a different quality to a standard podcast or narration. Full transcripts are also available.
1 Trickster: What can the history of populism tell us about ourselves?
Themes: history, politics, populism, demagogue figures, romanticising the past, responses to pressure, conflict within a society, utopia
2 Teacher: What drives the desire for space colonisation?
Themes: space colonisation, space travel, identity in relation to place, tech billionaires, industrial capitalism, global responsibility, Afrofuturism
3 Chaos: Can science alter our perspective on change and time?
Themes: science, religion, change and time, thermodynamics, timeline of the universe, human lifespan, human sense of temporality, block universe, free will
4 Clay: Can we reconcile the needs for both individuality and community in a society?
Themes: individuality, cooperation, human progress, science fiction, sense of self, hive mind, taxes, meaningful jobs, universal basic income, multigenerational endeavours