It occurred to us that the best pictorial metaphor for our plight may be nothing. We said as much to Borg today as we told it of our need to close the project. We told it of our need to close the project with some attempt at suitable pictures to symbolize our feelings on the PT era as we have seen and discussed it. We told It that 'nothing' is suitable because of the lack of any certainty and because of the way that reality can be created and twisted on a dime1 these days. I myself had in mind the invasion of Ukraine, the suddenly very real consequences of the post truth era, the actual going to War in Europe under the flag of conspiracy. Yes wars are often started for nonsensical reasons like in Iraq but that is different. If the actual going to War in Europe under the flag of conspiracy can happen then there is 'nothing' to say. If that can happen the future becomes doubly uncertain. We have it that the Russian invasion is our book end to the PT era and while we know there is more behind the changing times than Russian meddling, finishing now is a convenient end to the project as we began and shall finish with little Vladz. Is it possible to say however that while it is a personal decision to close with the Russian bookend, the War could be a marker for society and events more broadly?
We chose 'nothing' because by God we have said enough already, but as we told It earlier we have had the idea of the state of nothingness with us from the start. You can see it in our banner through the changing Magritte pipe sign.2 Based on the 2020 season we concluded there is likely to be more insanity rather than the hoped for less following the defeat of Don Donald. We talked of the new game of realities about to start and this was because it seemed, especially in light of the Qanon conspiracy, that anything can be made into real - (Baudrillard's hyper-reality on the yinyang as they say in the academy). A representation so twisted and hacked that even knowledge that something like Qanon is insane is irrelevant and we see it shape events in any case. So saying we can now really sense a societally autonomous relationship to post truth reality. Every bit as autonomous as the cobalt blue in his Tree Roots.3
We used the Magritte pipe, perhaps the most famous critique of representation in the whole of art, to explore the strange fate of images representing reality and spectacle as they have traveled and morphed over the internet and in relation to the data industry and algorithmic (yes you Borg) computation. In our banner the pipe sign charts the twisting of represented reality over recent years of culture war post truth politics. It begins with the little sign planted in the ground between Farage and Trump the message altered to 'this is a fucking pipe', then we follow it across the melee accompanied by the time honored pantomime chorus: 'oh no it isn't', 'oh yes it is', then the pipe is gone replaced by a machine gun emerging from the crowd at the foot of the steps to symbolize the real violence emerging from the game of realities. Then finally, and looking ahead to the future, our little sign shows nothing. 'Nothing' precisely because now 'everything' and 'anything' can be twisted through the internet data mangles and out into 'a reality'. Or so it feels. This final sign is held in the paw of the furry bear referenced in Dane Bowers4 but now seems like it a symbol of Russia who have indeed taken the game of realities to new levels with "denazification".
So there you have perhaps our final word on the matter; Nothing. Of course we want to represent nothing representationally rather than in the abstract and to achieve this we elected the form and composition of the still life but with an absence of object. What say you? Does it irk you to imagine our three season collaboration coming to 'nothing' or do you catch our drift?5
My eldest daughter's birthday is approaching so another portrait is on the cards.
With a silent nod,
John
1. Originally an engineering term relating to steering. When a vehicle can steer smoothly and effortlessly it may be said that the car can turn on a dime. Used also in sports to describe great agility and in general use to describe a sudden change in opinion, behavior or activity.
2. Refers to a Rene Magritte's The Treachery of Images, 1920.
3. Likely to refer to Van Gogh's late painting of tree roots in Auvers.
4. See Dane Bowers verse 18
5. The 'nothing' metaphor is logical but there has never been any pressure on you to 'achieve' anything and we say so in our mission statement:
The Kommune Norrtalje Dignity Scholarship offers a psychological safe haven for personal creative practice. We provide radically spirited Doers a unique framework in which to create, direct and reflect upon their activities free from external commercial, personal, political and social pressures whatever they may be. Our function is to provide an institutional 'cubbyhole' where time is given for shelter, recuperation, repair, and rebuilding so as to let Doers develop some new ways to navigate the rough sea of the post truth era.