EmPath
Installation & Performance
Part of Bubblegumclub’s INFINITY STUDIO residency
Commissioned by Kampnagel for LIVE ART FESTIVAL, Hamburg
2018
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I was approached by Bubblegumclub to participate in the INFINITY STUDIO residency which saw 16 South African artists collaborate on a collective performance installation at Kampnagel in Hamburg. I created a hypothetical product titled EmPath which boasted itself as the ‘first biotech supplement to effectively increase emotional intelligence’. Paired with my faux-product installation in the foyer I gave a parody TEDtalk to the audience as a tech-mogul silicon valley guru character, named Dan Van Kirk. The work addresses neoliberal tendencies of co-opting and attempting to commodify anything under the guise of social progression, particularly newage heroes like Elon Musk, Jordan Peterson, and Mark Zuckerberg.
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“The reinventor of the Mindful Industrial Complex” – Dan Van Kirk