Media Object
Media Object : Oracle
Oracles have been used by civilizations and cultures throughout human history. In all corners of the planet, the desire to glean hints toward possible futures has been sought through ritual, ceremony and deification. Generally, the communication model for the practice of divining future events takes the form of a medium that receives messages, or directly views the future, then passes these messages onto the individual seeking council. Alternatively, objects can also act as the messaging system, ostensibly becoming charged with visions from the future, which then transmute this message into arcane symbols to be decoded by learned individuals who know the code. A generalization of the purpose of this type of ritual can be seen to give meaning, purpose and direction in an existence devoid of these characteristics, to overcome the apparent randomness and chaos that guides our universe, and to offer hope that there is an underlying metaphysical structure to our lives – and this structure can be revealed and influenced given the right keys to access it.
My major project this past year dealt with speculation regarding how an artificial intelligence would react given a set of parameters regarding human behaviour. It was meant to elucidate questions regarding the placement of the 'human' within the context of an increasingly digital existence. It is within this attempt to predict a future possibility that I relate the oracle to my work. Another major question I am interested in posing regards the moment a non-human agent achieves 'consciousness' – how could this actually be determined, how would it react etc... To be clear, I am not exactly interested in the typical artificial intelligence inferences like the Turing test, but more to investigate the concept from an artistic perspective within the purview of my knowledge and skill base. So to unite the ideas of classic divination practices to my work, I see links in the writings of Braidotti regarding post-human critical theory. In creating a theoretical interface between humans and non-humans through a technological mediation, a call has been made to inject visionary and prophetic creativity in order to affirm this new ontology.
When the tarot changed from a parlour game to a vessel of prophecy imbued with mysticism around the mid 18th century, it it became a conduit for human will. The cards became associated with f meditative and energetic portals capable of pro
ducing in the individual a transformative trance to unknown worlds, making the cards a powerful tool in the development of an individual's "magical will" or higher spiritual purpose.
what is specific about this object?
1000 - 1500 words
what do you like / what did you pick? why picked that object? specificity of object: what distinguishes it from other objects? what is it interfacing / mediating? how does it relate to work / self-directed research?