PRAKSIS x VIGELANDMUSEET x KARMAKLUBB*
OSLO, 2019-21

PERFECTION / SPECULATION is a research and practice-based investigation into genes, memes and the modifiable human body in Oslo, Norway.

PERFECTION / SPECULATION is developed in collaboration with Norwegian arts catalyst PRAKSIS, in partnership with The Vigeland Museum and the nomadic queer club and conversational platform Karmaklubb*. Conceived as a research and practice-based residency, the project used ‘perfection’ as a critical lens to explore intersections of identity, technology, and aesthetics. Drawing on the speculative design framework of the GENETICS GYM project (2016–2020), it centred on sculptural modifications of the work of Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869–1943) to interrogate shifting constructions of gender, race, sexuality, age, body politics, and the notion of the ideal human. The project delivered a multi-year research agenda investigating perfection as a cultural, technological, and ideological force.

An international cohort of artists, designers, and researchers were curated through an open call from Canada, Israel, Iran, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, England, Northern Ireland, and Hong Kong who gathered in Oslo for the project, working across sculpture, fashion, media, ceramics, film, architecture, and medical rehabilitation. The project culminated in a public programme at the Vigeland Museum, featuring an evening of large-format video and audio installations projected across the museum’s internal courtyard, alongside live drag, DJ sets, artistic performances, and a curated conversation series exploring genes, memes, and the modifiable body. The residency extended the PERFECTION / SPECULATION research agenda into a public, integrated format—exploring identity, embodiment, and technological aesthetics through joy, thought, pleasure, and community.

In partnership with PRAKSIS, the programme also developed institutional research collaborations with NOBA (Norwegian BioArt Arena), Bioteknologirådet (Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board), Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, the Henry Moore Foundation, and Menneskeverd (Human Dignity). Contributions from the University of Cambridge (Department of Archaeology and Human Evolutionary Studies), Kreftforeningen (Norwegian Cancer Society), NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), and NFU (The Norwegian Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities) further bridged cultural production with academic, medical, and ethical discourse.

Keywords - Artificial Intelligence, Bioethics, Computer Science, Consumer Psychology, CRISPR-Cas9, Cultural Analytics, Cybernetics, Digital-Matter, Fashion Identity, Fine-Art, Generative-Art, Genetics, Human-Computer Interaction, Localised Culture, Metaverse, New Media, Ontologies, Post-Humanism, Sculpture, Soft-Materiality, Web3

Selection from,
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023

PERFECTION / SPECULATION Explorer, Future Body Prototype

Made by PERFECTION / SPECULATION Clash Group led by Adam Peacock; Marte Aas, Jonathan Armour, Louis Alderson-Bythell, Trinley Dorje, Erika Stöckel, and Bobby Yu Shuk Pu.

Available in PDF and Limited Edition A1 Print. Oslo 2023

Available to read here on Issuu

PERFECTION / SPECULATION Explorer, Research Output

Made by PERFECTION / SPECULATION Clash Group led by Adam Peacock; Marte Aas, Jonathan Armour, Louis Alderson-Bythell, Trinley Dorje, Erika Stöckel, and Bobby Yu Shuk Pu.

Available in PDF and Limited Edition A1 Print. Oslo 2023

Available to read here on Issuu

PERFECTION / SPECULATION Explorer, Research Output (Folded)

Made by PERFECTION / SPECULATION Clash Group led by Adam Peacock; Marte Aas, Jonathan Armour, Louis Alderson-Bythell, Trinley Dorje, Erika Stöckel, and Bobby Yu Shuk Pu.

Available in PDF and Limited Edition A1 Print. Oslo 2023

Available to read here on Issuu

Adam Peacock x PRAKSIS x Vigeland Museum x Karmaklubb*,
‘Perfection/Speculation’

PERFECTION/ SPECULATION
THE CONVERSATION

A series of public, research-led conversations addressed themes of digital identity, algorithmic desirability, and speculative aesthetics, featuring invited interlocutors including Prof. Mark Jarzombek (MIT), Dr Natasha Vita-More (Humanity+), Lucy McRae (SCI-Arc), and Prof. Lev Manovich (CUNY).

Vita-More speaks with Peacock about concepts of beauty, the role of ego and the ethics of striving to overcome ageing. Jarzombek discusses the impacts of AI and design technology on perceptions of self, while delivering some tough correctives on questions of state and corporate surveillance and the struggle of ethics to keep pace with market-driven bio-technologies and data access. Manovich reflects on issues of autonomy and originality in relation to social media and the algorithmic mining of big data, and offers important contextual reflections on the history and evolution of information technologies and cultural analytics. McRae discusses what it means to be ‘human’ in a science- and technology-driven world, and advocates for the role of art as a catalyst for experimental, open-ended approaches to the development of knowledge in this area.