MICRO-RESIDENCIES
- Is prehensile what can grasp: Think thumb, think tail. The irreducible gesture of the god-idea extends and curves, hold-lessly. "Negative theology" describes this problem of consigning and transmitting the refusal of a shape, the practice of temporary illumination. From Plato to Corbin, Maimonides to Benjamin, the language of light flashing is the through line of conscious apprehension. The first chapters deals in cosmosgensis and photography, the third and fourth in jewish medieval theology, the fifth in the political implication of so-called secular democracy and is interrupted there, by texts of grief. It is complete with an alphabetic entry of the related materials, that unfolds 2.5 meters long.
- Coptic bound plus an accordion fold-out, between two plywood sheets.
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- Produced as two artist proofs as part of the micro-residency, to eventually become a small edition.
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- Photos: Samoel Gonzalez
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“I am like you—breathing in this horror unfolding halfway across our world—a horror that is bigger than all of us and, at the same time, fits in the palm of our hands, even when clenched in a fist.”
Self-conflicting, addictive, yet nonetheless informative, this book questions my relationship with social media platforms. In joining @j7md ’s micro-residency, I finally unearthed the “personneteask print” file where I’d been compiling memes I’ve found, made or edited; and posted on @okmaispersonneteask since 2014. There’s solace in persistently maintaining the whimsical experience of early IG, where meme posts liked by 9 of your friends were equally reflective of a valuable and sexy digital existence.
-Written by V
- In mid-December, @lobnaalsana visited us in NYC from Palestine. For 5 days, she and her creative partner @heaventoofaramericatooclose took over my new space, where we spent long nights writing, making, pulling images from their archives (including some shots by @adam.rouhana) and texts from their journals, to create this bookwork. This is the only one of its kind, available for viewing in the studio… soon to make it to Palestine to be in Lobna’s possession.