#16: In Media Res (In the Midst of Things)
As a means to communicate with you, I tried to give body to the recent abstracts in my practice.
Perhaps I wonder, if I can formulate myself enough to become accessible, we could arrive at
some form of simultaneous interpretation. Recently I created an intricate visual mind map to
help me navigate the genesis of my thesis and as I thought back on this process as a method to
become transparent to you, I realized the territory in my mind looked nothing like the static one
flickering through my computer screen. The one inside me is crackling, spiraling and colliding,
so much so that this un-orientation prevented me from accessing anything without noise to
extend towards you. Inevitably, there will always be fragments that may or may not be
accessible to everybody, and it wouldn’t be the word that reached you intact in the first place,
but rather the frequencies of that message dragged within that vessel of language. By slipping
through moments of alternative or not-understanding we alter how we approach knowledge;
shedding the idea of possessing interpretation. And so as thoughts slipped around, I let go of
the compulsion to translate them and likewise the myth of perfect transmission.
Instead this becomes an invocation into liquid territory, where ruptures are welcomed and in
which there is resistance to a singular tOtality. Here in this space where I left s c a t t e r e d
words for you to find, to encounter in your own ways, temporalities and language(s) shift in the
methods they manifest frequencies, in order to forge alternative ways of knowing, thinking and
interpreting without accessing or understanding in linear or tOtal manners.
Through this fracture of standard text towards the ruins of conventional flows of information,
signs and codes are waiting to be clickety clack clocked through; a process of delineating
territory, or rather an attempt to bend the definitive into a web of vibrating resonances.
Bringing short lived meanings to long lived worlds.
Operating as a threshold between signal and noise, I employ the essence of Glitch (a symbol of imperfection) as an artifact of the materiality at use: this webpage, these languages, that image, those words, that mind. An artifact both as proof of the limitations of communication and as a quality of it. The term as we have come to use it in popular culture, arose first in the 1960s as astronaut slang for an unexpected surge of voltage within an electrical circuit. Since then the glitch has established itself as an exciting experience of interruption, that has the capacity to shift something from its ordinary form and discourse.
In Res
Media
nos impulsa a un espacio sin principio ni fin. Y en este espacio podemos practicar la ruptura de flujos, la remezcla, donde la información encriptada se balancea revelando y ocultando nuevas coreografías y topografías. Para corromper los datos -para crear fisuras como acto activo- nos deslizamos, nos resbalamos. Poniendo a prueba las alternativas del ser.
Visual es lo verbal
Verbal es lo verbal
Verbal es lo dual
Visual es lo visceral
Featured image shows possible distortions occurring in modern instant overlay translation applications on my phone.
Squiggling giggling riddling from a stable impression at the core of articulation, this continual transit through semantic networks becomes relational, unfolding and expanding towards an imagery/imaginary. The corrupted nature of glitch text, known as ‘Zalgo’ begins with the Unicode standard which governs all text symbols that you see on electronic devices. In order to design a system that would function for all written languages without specifying individually the vast amount of possible characters each letter can morph into through the use of different ‘marks’,
Ûn̷i̶cöd̷e̶ d̵ēs̶i̴g̷n̷e̴r̶š c̴r̴êa̵t̴èd t̷h̸e̶ f̵u̴n̴d̶aåm̷e̴n̷t̶ál̶ ̸ s̶̤̈́k̷̹͗ē̶͓ḷ̶̾e̴̗̎ẗ̸̝o̵̢̊n̶͇̎ ̶̓ͅu̶̩͗p̸̛͍o̷̮̅n̴̨͛ ̵̤͊w̵̳̚ḧ̴̳́i̴͍̓c̵͎̊h̴̹́ ̴̪̃t̷̉ͅh̸̩̔è̷̗s̶̘͌e̶̩̕ ̷̊͜ ḿ̬̏ͤͅā̤̓̍͘r̴̨̦͕̝ḳ̯͍̑ͦs̠҉͍͊ͅ c͕͗ͤ̕̕ā̤̓̍͘ṇ̤͛̒̍ b̬͖̏́͢ẹ̿͋̒̕ ā̤̓̍͘ḑ̴̞͛̒ḑ̴̞͛̒ẹ̿͋̒̕ḑ̴̞͛̒ t̲̂̓ͩ̑o̯̱̊͊͢, t̲̂̓ͩ̑ḣ̖̻͛̓ẹ̿͋̒̕ ṇ̤͛̒̍ư̡͕̭̇ḿ̬̏ͤͅb̬͖̏́͢ẹ̿͋̒̕r̴̨̦͕̝ o̯̱̊͊͢f̵͖̜̉ͅ ḑ̴̞͛̒ỉ͔͖̜͌ā̤̓̍͘c͕͗ͤ̕̕r̴̨̦͕̝ỉ͔͖̜͌t̲̂̓ͩ̑ỉ͔͖̜͌c͕͗ͤ̕̕ ḿ̬̏ͤͅā̤̓̍͘r̴̨̦͕̝ḳ̯͍̑ͦs̠҉͍͊ͅ t̲̂̓ͩ̑ḣ̖̻͛̓ā̤̓̍͘t̲̂̓ͩ̑ c͕͗ͤ̕̕ā̤̓̍͘ṇ̤͛̒̍ b̬͖̏́͢ẹ̿͋̒̕ ā̤̓̍͘ḑ̴̞͛̒ḑ̴̞͛̒ẹ̿͋̒̕ḑ̴̞͛̒ t̲̂̓ͩ̑o̯̱̊͊͢ ā̤̓̍͘ c͕͗ͤ̕̕ḣ̖̻͛̓ā̤̓̍͘r̴̨̦͕̝ā̤̓̍͘c͕͗ͤ̕̕t̲̂̓ͩ̑ẹ̿͋̒̕r̴̨̦͕̝ ḣ̖̻͛̓o̯̱̊͊͢w̦̺̐̐͟ẹ̿͋̒̕v͒̄ͭ̏̇ẹ̿͋̒̕r̴̨̦͕̝ ỉ͔͖̜͌s̠҉͍͊ͅ l̙͖̑̾ͣỉ͔͖̜͌ḿ̬̏ͤͅỉ͔͖̜͌t̲̂̓ͩ̑l̙͖̑̾ͣẹ̿͋̒̕s̠҉͍͊ͅs̠҉͍͊ͅ
B̩͎͍̾ͅo̯̱̊͊͢r̴̨̦͕̝ṇ̤͛̒̍ f̵͖̜̉ͅr̴̨̦͕̝o̯̱̊͊͢ḿ̬̏ͤͅ ā̤̓̍͘ṇ̤͛̒̍ ỉ͔͖̜͌ṇ̤͛̒̍t̲̂̓ͩ̑ẹ̿͋̒̕r̴̨̦͕̝ṇ̤͛̒̍ẹ̿͋̒̕t̲̂̓ͩ̑ p̞̈͑̚͞ḣ̖̻͛̓ẹ̿͋̒̕ṇ̤͛̒̍o̯̱̊͊͢ḿ̬̏ͤͅẹ̿͋̒̕ṇ̤͛̒̍o̯̱̊͊͢ṇ̤͛̒̍ l̙͖̑̾ͣỉ͔͖̜͌ṇ̤͛̒̍ḳ̯͍̑ͦẹ̿͋̒̕ḑ̴̞͛̒ t̲̂̓ͩ̑o̯̱̊͊͢ t̲̂̓ͩ̑ḣ̖̻͛̓ẹ̿͋̒̕ c͕͗ͤ̕̕o̯̱̊͊͢r̴̨̦͕̝r̴̨̦͕̝ư̡͕̭̇p̞̈͑̚͞t̲̂̓ͩ̑ỉ͔͖̜͌o̯̱̊͊͢ṇ̤͛̒̍ o̯̱̊͊͢f̵͖̜̉ͅ ỉ͔͖̜͌ṇ̤͛̒̍ṇ̤͛̒̍o̯̱̊͊͢c͕͗ͤ̕̕ẹ̿͋̒̕ṇ̤͛̒̍c͕͗ͤ̕̕ẹ̿͋̒̕ o̯̱̊͊͢r̴̨̦͕̝ ṇ̤͛̒̍o̯̱̊͊͢r̴̨̦͕̝ḿ̬̏ͤͅā̤̓̍͘l̙͖̑̾ͣỉ͔͖̜͌t̲̂̓ͩ̑y҉̃̀̋̑, “z̼͙̓́ͭā̤̓̍͘l̙͖̑̾ͣĝ̽̓̀͑o̯̱̊͊͢” b̬͖̏́͢ẹ̿͋̒̕c͕͗ͤ̕̕ā̤̓̍͘ḿ̬̏ͤͅẹ̿͋̒̕ ā̤̓̍͘s̠҉͍͊ͅs̠҉͍͊ͅo̯̱̊͊͢c͕͗ͤ̕̕ỉ͔͖̜͌ā̤̓̍͘t̲̂̓ͩ̑ẹ̿͋̒̕ḑ̴̞͛̒ w̦̺̐̐͟ỉ͔͖̜͌t̲̂̓ͩ̑ḣ̖̻͛̓ ā̤̓̍͘ṇ̤͛̒̍ o̯̱̊͊͢ḿ̬̏ͤͅỉ͔͖̜͌ṇ̤͛̒̍o̯̱̊͊͢ư̡͕̭̇s̠҉͍͊ͅ ẹ̿͋̒̕ṇ̤͛̒̍t̲̂̓ͩ̑ỉ͔͖̜͌t̲̂̓ͩ̑y҉̃̀̋̑ t̲̂̓ͩ̑ḣ̖̻͛̓ā̤̓̍͘t̲̂̓ͩ̑ t̲̂̓ͩ̑ā̤̓̍͘ḳ̯͍̑ͦẹ̿͋̒̕s̠҉͍͊ͅ o̯̱̊͊͢v͒̄ͭ̏̇ẹ̿͋̒̕r̴̨̦͕̝ p̞̈͑̚͞ẹ̿͋̒̕o̯̱̊͊͢p̞̈͑̚͞l̙͖̑̾ͣẹ̿͋̒̕s̠҉͍͊ͅ ḿ̬̏ͤͅỉ͔͖̜͌ṇ̤͛̒̍ḑ̴̞͛̒s̠҉͍͊ͅ ā̤̓̍͘ṇ̤͛̒̍ḑ̴̞͛̒ b̬͖̏́͢ẹ̿͋̒̕c͕͗ͤ̕̕ā̤̓̍͘ḿ̬̏ͤͅẹ̿͋̒̕ ā̤̓̍͘
s̠҉͍͊ͅy҉̃̀̋̑ṇ̤͛̒̍o̯̱̊͊͢ṇ̤͛̒̍y҉̃̀̋̑ḿ̬̏ͤͅ f̵͖̜̉ͅo̯̱̊͊͢r̴̨̦͕̝ c͕͗ͤ̕̕ḣ̖̻͛̓ā̤̓̍͘o̯̱̊͊͢s̠҉͍͊ͅ ā̤̓̍͘ṇ̤͛̒̍ḑ̴̞͛̒ t̲̂̓ͩ̑ḣ̖̻͛̓ẹ̿͋̒̕ ḑ̴̞͛̒ẹ̿͋̒̕c͕͗ͤ̕̕ā̤̓̍͘y҉̃̀̋̑ o̯̱̊͊͢f̵͖̜̉ͅ t̲̂̓ͩ̑ḣ̖̻͛̓ẹ̿͋̒̕ s̠҉͍͊ͅt̲̂̓ͩ̑ā̤̓̍͘ṇ̤͛̒̍ḑ̴̞͛̒ā̤̓̍͘r̴̨̦͕̝ḑ̴̞͛̒ ỉ͔͖̜͌ṇ̤͛̒̍t̲̂̓ͩ̑o̯̱̊͊͢ ā̤̓̍͘ t̲̂̓ͩ̑w̦̺̐̐͟ỉ͔͖̜͌s̠҉͍͊ͅt̲̂̓ͩ̑ẹ̿͋̒̕ḑ̴̞͛̒ ā̤̓̍͘l̙͖̑̾ͣt̲̂̓ͩ̑ẹ̿͋̒̕r̴̨̦͕̝ṇ̤͛̒̍ā̤̓̍͘t̲̂̓ͩ̑ỉ͔͖̜͌v͒̄ͭ̏̇ẹ̿͋̒̕ r̴̨̦͕̝ẹ̿͋̒̕ā̤̓̍͘l̙͖̑̾ͣỉ͔͖̜͌t̲̂̓ͩ̑y҉̃̀̋̑.
Image: “Here with everything in the world” 2021
Image: ‘The tails we tell’ 2021
Allowing this text to be seen as an object
that does a lot of traveling: across space
and especially across time. This
outline entry mutates into the
disruptive body, into the open
object that is shifting
and as a Process
of interaction we
begin to experience
and absorb differently
Together I invite
you to join the
Convergence
of different
temporal
interventions,
creating an
interplay of
Interferences,
of glitches
and en-
counters.
This fluid
Changeable
time-space
body is
just
One
Attempt
to drag
some of
our
Messages
into
existence
Through
a running
theory
of
L
I
Q
U
I
D
I
T
Y
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_____[_______]_[~~-_ (.L_/ ||
[____________________]’ `\_,/’/
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—–||-/——`-._/||-o–o—o— Alexandra Martens Serrano is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher currently based in Amsterdam. She holds a BA Fine Arts from The Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague (2014) and is currently in the midst of an MA Art Praxis at the Dutch Art Institute. Her multifaceted work, driven by her interest in semantic networks, is embodied through non-linear associative constellations that mostly shape installations which synthesize elements ranging in various materialities from sculptures to drawings, text, and sound. Her research converges the development of techno-ecologies, which reverberate shadow discourses of magic realism, with intersectional ways of reconfiguring, ‘dubbing’, and entangling the world as it currently is and as it speculatively could be. By exploring various traditional techniques/technologies and digital softwares; in her practice she engages with beyond-human voices and assemblages in relation to larger frameworks of linguistics, biopolitics, science, and histories. Pursuing new understandings of materiality, space and image beyond the western canon of knowledge, she approaches her work as hybrid gestures, cultivated as vessels of alternative methods of thinking, narrating and communicating in which various worlds and temporalities collide.
~~~~~’