#term three

[junow-honours]

DEMO exhibition work, this was such a great experience!

I really enjoy this type of presentation, a dissection/ fragmentation, autopsy/ medical diagram. Phoebe mentioned it is similar to preserved insect displays in museums- love this! I like presentations that follow some sort of predetermined logic, which is why I love diagrams. Mentioned before in previous posts, has connotations with packaging and 'satisfying' content. Symmetry. Mimics 'crafting' actions in video games, I've been watching a lot of survival videogame playthroughs where you must collect specific items to craft specialty items. When the player opens their inventory it has a satisfying display of all the items they collect in groupings, 'recipes'. Love menu's and inventories, a page that displays a vast collection of different things, crafting allowing you to pick, play, and collate items. A form of gamification in real life- especially in this satisfying genre of content I mentioned. Playing, but also maintaining control and order.

I enjoyed preparing each individual nail for use, cutting the head off and bending it. It was very painful after a while though (surely there is an easier solution for this in future- a tool that does the brunt of the work), but I sort of like the whole 'blood, sweat and tears' thing, requiring exhaustive effort- it contributes to my overall satisfaction of the work!

Ezra said a really interesting point, that the nails look as if they are part of a torture device, violent gesture, dangerous/ sharp points of nails. They are pinning/ entrapping the boards against the wall, as if they are crucifying them. Makes me think about ways of presenting, usually I prefer meticulous actions, things that involve a steady hand and intricacy- like that of an autopsy, surgery or dissection. But I equally like the idea of violent gestures, ways of making the work seem contained/ trapped/ held against its own will. Creating tension. Crucifixion idea, using a nail to puncture a work- destroying something in the process of displaying it? Creating pre-holes for crucifixion- things that satisfyingly fit or slot into one another- predetermined fates. Packaging and design principles.

[junow-honours]

Critique with Dan Arps

Thank you Delaney for the notes 😊

Juno crit notes <3

Board game/ world building vibes

Tiers of the boardgame in relation to the ‘spaces’ on them (e.g. capitalist society, slums etc.)

Ancient history symbols: cult-y, tiers of game representative of Dante’s Inferno 9 layers of hell

Is the work a metaphor for ‘the game’ or the ‘game of life’.

DnD ‘Calvinball’ (Dan said this) - making rules up as you go, unpredictable, unfair

The separation and distinction of the Square, Circle and Triangle levels is intriguing. It seems in the game there is no way to get through from shape to shape. Three seperate games in one?

Dark room presentation: can’t read card text, adds a unique element of the space/game if there are rules that are almost unreadable in the space

Pokemon, yugioh card references: working with the ‘aesthetic’ of the game rather than making an actual playable game

Light in the space/ placement of led lights: dictates the viewers sight, the viewers movement and interaction/understanding of the game

Ancient Roman/Egypt references: these civilisations were known for war and battles too, potentially an interesting element to add to the concept of the game.

So much to read but the game itself seems unplayable

Seems like an original invented game, not taking conceptual reference from anyone – get it to the point where your game is playable

Your work is rewriting the rules of game subcultures, by manipulating/adding references

Working with the broader territory (conceptually) of society politics (class levels etc.)

You (the creator) are subjecting the player to the game through game design- Alice mentioning the outward-facing cards, allocating that character to the player who finds themself in front of it

Cluedo vibes

The design of the game concept is similar to monopoly; working your way up in society to have ‘more’. But more of what?

Presentation of the game in the gallery space is between a museum vitrine display and playable; too nicely presented for viewers to interact with but it is still exposed and open

Simon Denny – Founders paradox

Dnd – ongoing game with no determined end (do I want this? Or do I want a clear objective/ end goal?)

This work is more of a sculpture of a game than a game itself.

The game seems unplayable because the characters are mid-play

What is the objective/parameters of the game? Make the dynamics/objectives clearer for the viewer.

Learn about the game by playing it

[junow-honours]

Notes

I haven't made any Tumblr posts recently, haven't felt motivated for a while.. I will try to research topics I enjoy and maybe that will pull me out of this rut

Certain notes I wrote in my book during this time:

'Person suit'- Hannibal. Superego, projection, reputation, façade

Predetermined fate. Bad luck bound to certain objects

Sleep paralysis as "gateway" to astral projection or the spirit world- something to embrace, or something to reject? (demonic possession)

"Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and gave it to man. For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity"- Opening caption for Oppenheimer (known as the American Prometheus).

Hedi Xandt quote: Darkness is rich of emotions. I love the blur, the mist in our heads when we experience things we cannot explain. Have you ever held a skull in your hands? It’s magical. So light, but strong. Intricate and almost fragile in appearance, yet it serves us a lifetime as support, a case for our mind. Things like that fascinate me, the layers of our existence, but also the almost godly alienation from nature that comes with knowledge and technology.

Updating this post with new notes from 05.10.23:

Iann An oral presentation notes: A monster’s body can be perceived as a manifestation of terror, anxiety, desire and even fantasy as demonstrated throughout history, giving them life and an uncanny independence…. ‘Monstrum’ which etymologically means “that which reminds, reveals, or warns.” It is a symptom, a response, an expose

Jeffrey Cohen Monster Theory

[junow-honours]

16.08.23

Critique notes, thank you Alice and Ashley!

Has the same quality as an art book- part 'artwork', part 'product'. It doesn't necessarily fit into either category, it is a combination of both

The 'involuntary' aspect of joining the game is interesting

Voyeurism vs contribution

Experiencing from a safe distance- games, the internet (behind a screen). There's this barrier that distances you from the event/ subject

Information rather than experience- visualizing things as diagrams/ records/ methodical enactments/ autopsies

Grand Theft Auto- earning points from committing crimes, glorification and reward endorsing the act

Human drive towards destruction, craving risk and reward. Firefighters who deliberately start fires to 'play God'

Playing God, playing the 'hero', sense of superiority and power gained through being the hero in a time of tragedy

Addiction to this power ^

Certain careers enforcing this sense of power, psychopaths tend to seek careers that allow them this sense of power- police, surgeon, lawyer etc.

God complex

One's personal truth and belief of morals, belief that they are committing acts of 'good': what state of mind you have to be in to believe that acts of violence equate to good morals

^ Serial killers who equate killing 'bad' people as 'cleansing the world of evil'. When the villain believes they are saving the world

The line that you would cross morally- killing or defending?

Global states, not just individual states

Politics of torture

Spectrum of morality

Oppenheimer, destruction and guilt. The 'American Prometheus'

Simulation vs reality

Ender's Game film- to watch. 'War games' - Drone warfare

[junow-honours]

25.07.23

Notes and plans for term one, with feedback from Matt:

Operation Game:

Operation aspect: focus is on the victim, and the aftermath of mutilation/ dissection

Wound Man aspect: focus is on the invisible aggressor, the action, how the wounds are being inflicted. The Aggressor is invisible, insinuating that the player could be playing the role of the aggressor, by inflicting the wounds on the victim. There are also other roles that the player may play as; the saviour/ surgeon role, the one trying to mend the victim. Other players who are watching without participating are voyeurs or observers, they are bound to this game through curiosity and complicity.

Could this be a game of one v one? Aggressor vs surgeon, both try to veto out the other’s actions by continuously mending or removing organs. Health-bar in a video game battle, watching it decline and rise, sense of tension and urgency. I recently watched a video about Mexicans cartels, and how they would pay doctors to standby and ‘revive’ victims during torture to prolong their suffering, (or, with similar intentions to prolong the pain, they’ll inject victims with drugs so they remain conscious). This constant push and pull between life and death can be reflected in a game of Operation.

How to imitate the visceral, bloody, fleshy quality of ‘bodily gore’ through technological processes and superficial/ inorganic materials? And.. how to capture acts of violence (actions) through still board game set ups. How to create an atmosphere of violence/ tension/ pain without necessarily being very explicit?

'Tech gore'- viruses, malfunctions, noise and clutter of AI distortion. Can I intentionally mutilate 3D prints? Melting, disruption Tension, contained danger. Boxed in games: entrapped, protected, controlled, or imprisoned? Subtle indicators that allude to a narrative. The 'red button' - impulsive actions and consequences

Creating objects that feel cursed, or have unforeseen binds tied to them. Creating games that are playable, but can't and shouldn't be played.

Consider how a player would enter a game? Is there a process to entering the game, or is it involuntary? I'm really interested in ideas of fate and chance. With the example of Death Note: from pure coincidence (or fate?) the protagonist picks up the Death Note out of curiosity, and from this simple/ innocent action he is bound with numerous responsibilities and prophecies to the Death Note, and the Shinigami tied to it. Could it be the first action taken place in a board game, the roll of the dice, the selection of a character piece, the opening of the box that becomes the binding moment where a person becomes a player, and the completion of the game becomes their fate or prophecy. Escape Room films often include a riddle or puzzle that needs to be completed for admission into the real game. In Squid Games, the cash prize was the incentive for the players who decided to join, them willingly entering the black van was the final admission for entering the game and losing their agency.

[junow-honours]

Wound Man and Operation

Have been rewatching the series of Hannibal and came across this diagram (top right image) of the Medieval Wound Man (top left image). I was immediately interested in it because it is morbid but also sort of ridiculous. The amount of inflictions on display sparks a natural morbid curiosity, it feels educational like a medical diagram, but it also feels like those ‘search and find’ picture games, cabinets of curiosities, or those illustrated books of “absolutely everything” (I had a book like this that I was obsessed with so I feel inclined towards mass visual information/ diagrams like this). Still images like these are also easy to imagine in action. You can picture (with disgust and awe) how the attack on the Wound Man would play out in action, and what level of barbarity it would take for someone to inflict one, if not all, of those attacks against someone else. I enjoy Hannibal because it does this; enacting very peculiar and enigmatic ways of inflicting violence on one another, manifesting some of the most unimaginable scenarios into existence! How to describe this idea/ methodology? Thinking of the ‘what if’s or ‘imagine if this impossible/ bizarre thing were to happen’. Snuff films (gore videos) had this impact on me, it gives you the sudden, disenchanting and disturbing realisation that sometimes unimaginable horrors are entirely possible and more common than you’d expect.

I want to focus on this connection between the Wound Man, the board game ‘Operation’, and infamous gore videos that serve as reminders of these ‘what if’ scenarios. The connection being this enactment of violence, and the morbid curiosity and primal fears that surround the idea of bodily mutilation. (Fear of losing any part of our precious bodily structure, bodies boundaries being invaded and reversed in any way. Losing the integrity of any organ, body part, or natural function. Fear of animal attacks, cannibalism, or being devoured in any way stems from this fear of mutilation)- my thoughts, but I found an article which discusses this too, will do more research.

I wrote a post earlier (probably way back in my Tumblr now) on Operation the board game. (Went back and found the post so will copy, paste, and refine below).

Within context of gore media, ‘snuff’, torture practices, dissection and mutilation.. this board game can be seen as terrifying. Gamification of violence, become a torture game, violence as entertainment. Methodical barbarity of torture, tedious processes one may be willing to endure to inflict pain on others. Cartel videos, inflicting fear, coercion, establishing dominance, corruption. Coming to terms with the realisation that some people will voluntarily and willingly enact this torture on someone else is deeply disturbing and disenchanting.

Game, viewer: opportunity to engage in this torture. Facing consequences of accepting this challenge (the electric shock). Involves involuntary participation of people watching on (watchers, voyeurs), raises questions of their complicity in the act of violence. Power of coercion and fear.

[junow-honours]

AI iterations of my mid-year installation

I've been using AI image generation to kick off the initial visualization of my ideas, they were used as the catalyst for visual character/ world designs, which I then built upon. So AI played a significant role in the beginning stages of my project. But I want to find a way to use AI continuously throughout my project as part of the research process, allowing it to create its own interventions and disrupt the preconceived plan that I most likely (always) have when I start on projects.

Using AI to re-generate iterations of my 'finished' projects open up windows of opportunity for further exploration. AI polishes over my images with its own omniscient lense, it emphasizes certain details that it deems important and removes or distorts other details that it deems unworthy or unimportant. It also glazes over images with an esoteric and enigmatic language, which results in this game looking and feeling other-worldly and beyond our understanding.