Anders als wir erwartet hatten entzog sich die Zirkulation der Bilder nicht der Reglementierung durch irgendwelche Stellen, sondern bildete völlig selbstverständlich ein neues Herrschaftssystem aus: Die Gouvernementalität der Algorithmen. Diskurse und Moden schoben sich wie Hoch- und Tiefdruckgebiete über Territorien. Sie regneten aus Datenwolken auf uns herab, kamen über den Atlantik oder strichen als Föhn die Bergkämme hinab.

Die Bewegungen der letzten Jahre glichen nurmehr einem Driften, das Druckveränderungen mehr geschuldet zu sein schien als eigener Dynamik. Inzwischen glaubten wir, Schauplatz eines Experiments geworden zu sein. Wie Gewitterwolken lagen Gegenwart und Zukunft über unseren Köpfen und entluden sich hell zuckend in die Großhirnrinden. Fashion, Schuld und Charity. Okkupation. Akzeleration. Post-Anthropozentrismus. In erstaunlicher Geschwindigkeit schoben sich immer neue Begriffs-Fronten über Parties, Biennalen und Museen, um wenige Momente später wieder in sich selber zu zerfallen. Wo was verschwand, blieb nur das ferne Lachens eines Schmetterlings, dessen grausam gusseiserner Flügelschlag all dies ausgelöst hatte.

Wir waren Sensoren geworden. Ein Heer mannshoher Antennen, zusammengefasst zu Feldern von jeweils 192 Einzelantennen, die sich von den Niederlanden über Deutschland auf den ganzen Kontinent ausgebreitet hatten. So lauschten wir seit Jahren auf tieffrequente Schwingungen. Gemeinsam mit Partnerprojekten in Nord- und Südamerika sowie im asiatisch-pazifischen Raum bildeten wir ein riesiges Interferometer, dessen Signale zu einem einzigen Datenstrom korreliert wurden. Dies also war die Kunst. Weit weg von den Küsten der Intentionalität und der Ich-Konstruktionen lebten wir in Camps mit seltsam fremden Namen. Und Stäben gleich starrten wir auf Panther und modellierten ihnen eine Welt.

Contrary to our expectations the circulation of images hadn’t extracted itself from regulation by some entity/institution/authority. Rather, it quite naturally created a new system of authority: The governmentality of algorithms. Discourses and fashions pushed across territories like high- and low-pressure systems. They rained down on us from clouds of data, moved across the Atlantic, or blew down as torrents from mountain ridges.

The movements/streams/torrents of recent years merely resembled a drifting motion that seemed to owe its shiftings to changes in pressure, rather than their (own) inherent dynamics. Meanwhile we believed to have become part of an experiment. The present and future lay above our heads like clouds of a storm, discharged in our cerebral cortices, emitting bright flashes of lightning. Fashion, guilt(,) and charity. Occupation, acceleration, post-anthropocentricism. Ever-changing conceptual jet-streams rolled in on parties, over biennials and through museums with stunning velocity, only to (then) disintegrate within moments. Wherever something disappeared, the only trace left was the faint echo of a Butterflys chuckle, who had caused all of this with a cruel beat of its cast-iron wings. We had become sensors.

An army of man-sized antennae grouped together in fields of 192 individual antennae (each) that spread, via the Netherlands and Germany, throughout the whole continent. We listened to the low-frequency oscillations like this for years. Along with partner projects in North and South America and the Asia-Pacific region we established a gigantic interferometer whose signals were correlated into a unified data stream. So this was (the) art, then. Distant from the shores of intentionality and constructions of self, we dwelt/(dwelled) in camps with strange names/strangely named camps. And like poles/rods/batons/beams we gazed upon panthers and rendered/molded/modeled them a universe/world/space. (…modelled a world/universe for them)
(c) The Galleries, 2015

The new age compensates our consciousness in different ways. It compensates our secular, materialist society by nakedly displaying the powerful longings of the human spirit, even if this compensation is unsuccessful, I.e unacceptable to mainstream secular attitudes. It also compensates our established religious traditions by forcing us to attend to what has been repressed or ignored by Western religion: The sacred feminine, the Earth Mother, the Goddess, the Body, nature, instincts, ecstasy and mysticism. – Jung and the New Age –

David John TaceyThe second half of the last century has seen a renewed interest by western cultures in eastern spiritual practices, as well as alternative forms of medicine. The spiritual depth these cultures hold within their historically evolved practices have since been dissected and streamlined to match a Western lifestyle, transformed from ends to means, presenting an attractive option to those with limited time and patience, and for those with a different agenda to begin with. Particularly from the 1990´s onwards, and often gathered under the umbrella of `Wellness´ and `New Age´, we have seen a number of hybrid strands spreading though the West as variations of ancient techniques, such as Yoga, which have been converted into formats such as expedited routes to enlightenment and Zen business models. In the simplest of forms, businesses can be seen appropriating elements (words, fonts, colours, etc.) to reference the betterment of the consumer, by appearing to be associated to a healthier, more desirable, conscious way of living. The literature supplementing these practices occupies a surprisingly large portion of storage racks in Amazon´s ‘Fulfilment Centres’. The following titles specifically illustrate the wide selection of accessibility: The Seven Laws to Spiritual Success´, `The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment´ or `The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself’ and at the end of the spectrum, ‘Reiki for dummies’..

In the contemporary religious consumer market, the commodification of spirituality and it’s appropriation – especially from other traditions not one’s own – foment an increasingly contentious issue. The questions, which arise, relate to ownership: Is spirituality a private possession or does it belong today more in the public domain – making it something freely accessible to whomsoever chooses?– New age commodification – Michael York

Although they might be stripped down and/or modified in relation to the original sources, these strands are essentially positive and offer access to whichever concept of the `sacred´ a devotee may choose to pursue. This variety of possibility creates an arena of interest that might not otherwise appear accessible. While viewed from the outside, an element of irony is potentially present in many of these practices, however, in essence, what they hope to offer is the possibility of bettering oneself, and to enable potentially life changing rituals and experiences. The exhibition `Fulfilment Centre’ brings together a survey of works that from a variety of perspectives can be seen to work with the aforementioned text. Within these references new iconography and motifs emerge, suggesting the possibility of worship or to contemplate further and differently to the way in which art asks us to engage. There is a fine line between cynicism and sincerity, or scepticism and optimism, when observing these tendencies – the selection of works on display has been conceived to negotiate this awkward zone of uncertainty.
As a part of the exhibition, a trained professional will offer a limited amount of hourly Acupuncture treatments on the two Sundays following the show opening at the gallery.

 

review: Jotta (online)

Supported by: artEDU Stiftung Switzerland- OCA Office for Contemporary Art Norway

Cul De Sac

---