Theory vs. Existential Randomness: Writers Lab with Chat-Bots
2016-2018, a collaboration with Nina Tshomba and Evie the Chatbot, PLACES OF EVENT: Rhizhome Festival | Rote Fabrik | Zürich | 2018 VOLUMES Independent Art Book Fair | Helmhaus | Zürich | 2017 Tart Gallery | Zürich | 2017 raum*station | Zürich | 2016
Theory vs. Existential Randomness is a series of collective and polyphonic (theory) writing Lab‘s for humans and [algorythmic] machines. It is open for everybody and doesn‘t require some specific theoretical knowledge nor some special writing or coding skills. It is hosted by Nina Tshomba, Jana Vanecek and Evie the Chat-Bot.
Many people feel guilty after spending hours watching cat videos or clicking link after link after link etc. They think they are wasting their time. We would like to offer them the internet and other digital applications as an active tool of engagement. By «wasting» some time together we explore the algorythmic rooms of possibilities. We sample and remix digital and analogue ‚artifacts’ and experience collectively the pure pleasure to browse and surf and copy and paste to find new ways of textcreation and textdigestion.
We won’t write about existential randomness. Non. Because true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words/codes. We won’t write about theory. NeT//OTKa3. We will tell the translator-software about Derrida’s burnt 襪子[socks] lying on the road and pair it with a gif depicting dancing elephants and Schroedinger’s Cat or some viral DNA. Because Tecno Mobile is a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer which is based in Hong Kong. = ¿∞”fi˜ˆ@¯°º´≠´°Ω{∫†´¬μ∂®$$); We won’t try to make it logical. We won’t edit y*ou_r [souls?] according to the fashion. Rather, we will playfully follow our most intense obsessions mercilessly and break the given rules by the use of motivic development (though relatively limited) and the employment of the unconventional.