A seemingly foldable chair for unfolding events
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Chair, 2024
"The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear."
[Antonio Gramsci, Prison Notebooks]
National governments fighting with memes, live-streamed coups on YouTube, diplomacy through shitposting, extremist killers trolling on Reddit, cattle wearing VR headsets to boost milk production, environmental disasters going viral on Instagram and TikTok, "covfefe"...
"The Weasel Timeline" conspiracy theory asserts that Earth underwent a shift to an alternate universe following a weasel intrusion at the Geneva Hadron Collider in April 2016, causing a temporary shutdown. Advocates of this theory contend that it could provide a rationale for the apparent systematic chaos witnessed in recent years, resembling a modern-day "New Dark Age." Undoubtedly, compelling parallels exist between the present world and the Middle Ages. The increasingly personalized nature of democratic politics mirrors the era of dynasties and nobility. The supremacy of technological behemoths in the global economy reflects a feudal understanding of power dynamics. Supranational institutions share similarities with papal and imperial structures, while conspiracy theories embody a millenarianism reminiscent of the dark ages.
Referencing to the medieval Glastonbury Chair, "A seemingly foldable chair for unfolding events" invites us to take a seat, take a deep breath, and contemplate the morbid phenomena occurring around us. Here, the map of the CERN accelerator complex transforms beyond its informative role, emerging as an ornamental embellishment intricately engraved onto the chair.
*Project developed with the conceptual support of Linda Van Deursen.