A Digiscape from Reality

"A Digiscape from reality" Simon Banos Contributor: Contributor: Anvilla Anvilla El El

“A Digiscape from reality” Contributor: Anvilla El [poems “Preparation for Leaving” & “Home”] The concept “What is even going on?”; We live in a constantly changeable socio-political and economical environment that could be perfectly described as a Kafkian cosmos of absurdity. In my attempt to escape reality, uncertainty and hopelessness, I begun building a parallel universe; a safe and peaceful digitopia for mental departures. This project articulates digitally the relationship between the city and its habitants through the dialogue of two foreign citizens of London who try to shape their ID interacting with this unfamiliar environment.

The concept in detail The great escape This project was fuelled by my own sensibilities and my necessity of moulding a place that I could call “home” since I left my home country, Greece. Being part of Millenials’’ compelled -by political and economical situations- nomadism, this digitopia gave me the chance to digitally sprout my roots. Millennials have disowned current political systems as an educated and conscious political statement. We are disappointed by the socio-political and economical decisions of the generation X as well as the structure of values and ethics within which we were brought up. Being shaken around by the constant shift of geopolitical winds has worn us down. At the same time we grew up in a gold-pink, romanticized bubble constructed by the feeling of being special, “mommy’s dearest”, in combination with the addiction to instant gratification, individualism, consumerism and social media culture. This bubble bursts every time we have to fit in. But fit in where? In a word of ever-changing environments, we had to mutate in order adapt. We have inscribed fluidity as well as the feelings of instability in our DNA, and thus we refrain from getting too attached on a single status quo. Instead the cyberspace is our great escape from a reality which is too challenging to deal with. That reality has caused a mutation; and this mutation in its turn might even feel that the environment more natural to it is virtual/digital. After all, what is even the idea of “reality” if not another illusion?

The digitopia The concrete structures of the buildings and the intangible structures of the English language affect equally our emotional and behavioural patterns, in a mutual co-dependent relationship. In this digitopia I depicted our emotional mapping of London, reflecting on the mental photographs we took during our journeys in the city. The process I followed to insert this in my digitopia was the following: I sent Chang material that represent my image of the city through different means of expression. Adapting L Wittgenstein’s theory, I thought the perfect way to obtain genuine and raw answers from her, was to start a conversation at her mother language! So, we discussed about space, colours, volumes, the relationship between light & shadow and between body & space. What was considered to be the second step, I translated her answers using Google translator, an inadequate and misleading medium, surrendering, to the given fact that some things are meant to be lost in (Google) translation. The result of that conversation was this digitopia or in other words this “digital heterotopia”. As my relationship with the city and its citizens develops, this digital city will be infinitely accumulating in cyber time and space. Our dialogue with Chang, took place in the “cyber neighbourhood”.

The digi-citizens But who are we, if not the fictitious, complex personas we create on Facebook and Instagram? Our ID floats in the web 2.0 being distorted, deconstructed and reconstructed every time we “click” on another website. We are photoshoped, gender-fluid, hybrid super-Marios, princes and princesses. Fragmented pieces constituted by myriads of IDs that repose in the cyber world our missing dreams, exaggerated characteristics and quirks. We are what we “click”, we are becoming what results from that “clicking” and we are growing up as accumulated data and pixels. We are crossing that threshold where, while we have already overcome our “natural origins”, we’re about to leave our “concrete nature” behind for the digital one. The terms of this dialogue: the city and the citizens, have been substituted by their cyber versions: the web 2.0 and the Facebook personas, respectively. We experience Heidegger’s “being-in-the-world” in its alternative: the “cyber-being-in-the-digitalworld”. Where is our ID after all formed? In the physical or in the cyber world? Each building, object and rock is a part of each person’s memories and thus contribute to the formation of their identity. In the same way, photos on Instagram and Facebook, quotations on Twitter, data and video games haunt our memories as we are browsing the web. We live into two parallel cities and universes.

The spatial design - curating We are ready to escape reality and “enter the void”. Let’s pack our hopes, our dreams and depart. The synthesis in the window narrates this digi-departure.

The packing boxes imply the preparation for the journey; we move out from this absurdity - we’ve had enough. The metaleptic narrative brings the visitor in front of the gate where she can have a look into the digitopia, as the packing boxes shape an extended threshold to this parallel word. A poem is written on semitransparent sheets, narrating ordinary (compulsive) domestic rituals that bring the feeling of intimacy; an intimacy that includes the feeling of uncanny as we visit an unfamiliar digital environment.

“Sixth principle: The last trait of heterotopias is that they have a function in relation to all the space that remains. This function unfolds between two extreme poles. Either their role is to create a space of illusion that exposes every real space, all the sites inside of which human life is partitioned, as still more illusory. Or else, on the contrary, their role is to create a space that is other, another real space, as perfect, as meticulous, as well arranged as ours is messy, ill constructed, and jumbled.”1 The heterotopic, timeless space of the window operates as an extended threshold towards a parallel digi-universe. This very non-space belongs neither to the interior nor to the exterior space of the building and simultaneously to both of them.

The window is full of potential to “unlock” the gate for this coexisting within the physical city layer. The artefacts are the chorus that surrounds the central scene, forecasting the transition. In this way, this heterotopia is brought to life, obtains substance and temporality. From the “Phygital objects” to the “Roses are pink” and to “Pixelating”, the narrative is gradually unfolded, transferring the viewer to my digitopia, as the phygital phenomenon takes place. The blend of 2D and 3D dimensions through opening windows into this digitopia that distort the perception of the real space, questions even further the idea of real and perceived space.

1 Foucault, Michel. Of Other Spaces, (1967) journal Architecture/Movement/Continuities, p.3 of 6

Let's escape from this absurdity Reality sucks

Roses are pink Pixels are blue My hand is pixelated Because of you To Internet With love, Simon

Preparation for Leaving

by Anvilla El

So exciting!

Soon, I'll be leaving.

An opportunity is waiting Brave new life is waving So terrifying!

I may fail, I hope not. my heart commands, follow me. Dream triumphs the fear.

Aye, wipe off the tear.

Childhood, my sweet room. books, drawings, piano, plants... I have you on Polaroid My sanctuary, my wonderland.

Skype tutorial for mum. Cooking training for me. One last night One suitcase One way ticket

Home

by Anvilla El

At last, I shut my mouth as I've been wishing for.

I'm home. Leave me alone.

Shall we unpack? I agree with myself.

Being a painter, carpenter, decorator...I'm just making a mess. Don't care, the mattress is cosy.

Neighbour's got my mail, I'm settling down.

Bath tub looks less suspicious now. Perhaps I got used to it. "Mum, you wanna Skype?"

"Work's fine, I don't wanna talk about it."

Switch on the heating. Hug it tight.

I'm in love. I'm home.

A dancing shadow on the warm side of the steamy window.

Have to retreat.

Have to prepare for the world outside. Maybe it's time to finally have a cat!

What about a house party once a year? A bigger desk?

I've always wanted a piano!

The genealogy of the project: Fragmented pieces of this digitopia have been exhibited in the following venues: • “Lost in Google Translation: The Heterotopia within which we meet”: The “post-talk” Concrete Matters [exhibition]

Curated by Caterina Avataneo, Rokhsane Hovaida, Rosie Jenkins, Christina Makri, Angela Pippo, Margaux Rivoal, Despoina Tzanou, Eline Verstegen, Raphael Vasilas, Sveva Tonioli, Iliana Deligiorgi

London Metropolitan University & Whitechapel Gallery joint program Bank Space Gallery 17 March 2016 77-82 Whitechapel High St, London, E1 7QX

• “Lost in Google Translation: The Heterotopia within which we meet” Susak Expo 2016 [biennale]

Curated by Natalie Anastasiou, Chel Logan & Kagweni Micheni 12 May 2016 Gallerie 531, X -Position Kuca 600, Sansego, Istarska, Croatia

• “Lost in Google Translation: The Digidate - A dedication to Lena Platonos” All the sins [literary and arts magazine] 1st issue 6 October 2016

• “Lost in Google Translation: The mental photographs” Imaginary Worlds: Illustration Now [exhibition] Oriel Davies Gallery 22 October 2016 - 25 February 2017 The Park, Newtown, Wales, SY16 2NZ

• “Lost in Google Translation: A Digiscape from Reality” MEMEMEME [exhibition]

Curated by Giota Papakyriakou, Ismene King & Yarli Allison The Crypt Gallery (St Pancras) 16 - 17 February 2017 St Pancras Parish Church, Euston Road, WC1H 9PJ