communication

the buffalo institute for contemporary art

deli gallery

western front (CAnada)

2021
30 minutes

Part ode to Mystery Science Theater, this story begins in darkness, where unnamed characters watch a presentation at the planetarium about what happened to the stars – i.e. the people on earth. Omnesia (Omni + amnesia), a fictional media conglomerate has massive control over the lives of ordinary people. Aspen Van Der Baas, a gen-something girlboss, and Jordie, her techie right hand render this world in a dark but silly satire as they attempt to dislocate the people in New Greater Framingham with assistance from their AI, Silvy. In the midst of this battleground emerges the voice of deeper consciousness, who gives a call, an instruction, to reorganize a power within. Collapsing the space of stage performance, with the language of cinematic narrative, and the logic of video art, this piece formally embodies the state of media convergence in which we currently live.