“Even though we are essentially technological beings, we live in constant conflict with our creations. We want them to look like us but if they don’t come close enough to the image we have in mind, we call them failures; if they resemble us too much, we become afraid of them.
We live between the Frankenstein complex, Victor Frankenstein’s fear of his own creation, and the Pygmalion fantasy, in which the maker falls madly in love with what he has made. Yet between fear and attraction, what we find in technology is our own reflection: like Narcissus, we both fall in love with, and fear, an illusion of otherness.”
This is an extract from a text I wrote for Alterity, an installation by
@jaccogardner that will premiere worldwide next Friday at
@iffr
For writing Alterity, I revisited myths that reflect on our relationship with technology, what we expect from our creations, and how, in turn, they shape us.
1. Divina Commedia, ms 36 British Library
2. Alterity preparations
3. Narcissus, Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer, cod. Bodmer 49.
4. Alterity Project.
5. Pygmalion and Galatea, Jean Baptiste Regnault 1754-1829.
6. Alterity Poster.
7 and 8. Pygmalion and Galatea, Bodleian Library MS. Douce 195,
9. Temperance Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer / Cod. Bodmer 49 – Christine of Pisan, Epitre d’Othea
10… Advertisements
World premiere at:
@iffr Location:
@brutus.rotterdam
Performance: January 30th - 31th Tickets on sale 15th of January Credits: Creative Direction:
@jaccogardner Dramaturgy and script:
@maria.pandiello Sound Design:
@jaccogardner & K2000 Visuals:
@jaccogardner & Trip a Tron Composition:
@jaccogardner & “M” Principal Cast:
@jaccogardner , (spoken text written by:
@maria.pandiello ) Live Performance by:
@jaccogardner Creative Consultation:
@edwingardner Video Montage:
@86ob3 Poster & Artwork: asr.cicada Production: Floris Smit for
@upscalexr Supported by
@stimuleringsfonds creatieve industrie
