Optimism
Occupy Space at Ormston House
June 2013
“Optimism is a political act” (Alex Steffen)
Optimism addresses the rapidly growing proliferation of new digital technologies and media of the early 21st century. These technologies hold an increasingly prevalent position as mediators for our experience of our everyday lives. This holds certain benefits: the free-flow of non-hierarchised information for example, and a democratisation and interconnectivity imagined by the utopians of previous eras.
However a counter-argument could be made that precisely the opposite has occurred; namely that the constant bombardment of information and visual stimuli has had the effect of reinforcing existing power structures, contributing to the pervading sense of ennui and lethargy that characterises the postmodernist epoch.
In reality, both views have a certain validity. Utilising Jacques Derrida’s conception of the pharmakon, something that is both a poison and a remedy all at once, the work seeks to counter the idea and practice of creating identity and agency through consumer choices, and that the only useful way to enact positive change in our lives, in both a personal and societal context, is through positive action and democratic engagement.
Click here for a video walkthrough of the show courtesy of Ormston House director, Chris Hayes.
Occupy Space at Ormston House
June 2013
“Optimism is a political act” (Alex Steffen)
Optimism addresses the rapidly growing proliferation of new digital technologies and media of the early 21st century. These technologies hold an increasingly prevalent position as mediators for our experience of our everyday lives. This holds certain benefits: the free-flow of non-hierarchised information for example, and a democratisation and interconnectivity imagined by the utopians of previous eras.
However a counter-argument could be made that precisely the opposite has occurred; namely that the constant bombardment of information and visual stimuli has had the effect of reinforcing existing power structures, contributing to the pervading sense of ennui and lethargy that characterises the postmodernist epoch.
In reality, both views have a certain validity. Utilising Jacques Derrida’s conception of the pharmakon, something that is both a poison and a remedy all at once, the work seeks to counter the idea and practice of creating identity and agency through consumer choices, and that the only useful way to enact positive change in our lives, in both a personal and societal context, is through positive action and democratic engagement.
Click here for a video walkthrough of the show courtesy of Ormston House director, Chris Hayes.
