THE VALIDATION JUNKY
THE VALIDATION JUNKY takes a critical look at the entangled relationships between social media, emerging technologies and the human body.
April 2023, Statista recorded that 60% of the world's population have active social media accounts, giving rise to a globally interlinked, constantly changing network of billions of highly personalised, multilayered images of the self. At the same time, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and genetic engineering are starting to transform society and the evolution of the human body. Led by multinational corporations, these new developments are far outpacing legislation.THE VALIDATION JUNKY, a collaboration between PRAKSIS and RAM Galleri, brings together ambitious new artworks and research by British post-disciplinary artist/designer Adam Peacock. At the front of RAM gallery, drawings and video works by Peacock speculatively map possible futures of a technologically enabled human evolution, while the rear gallery showcases a major body of research generated by Peacock in Oslo during his September 2021 PRAKSIS residency Perfection / Speculation. Peacock’s research features thought-provoking video interviews between the artist and four leading protagonists in the fields of new technology, identity, the body and the perception of self: author of The Transhuman Manifesto Natasha Vita-More, Professor in the History and Theory of Architecture at MIT Mark Jarzombek; Presidential Professor at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, Lev Manovich; and science-fiction artist, filmmaker, inventor and body architect Lucy McRae.
Residency partners The Vigeland Museum and queer live events coordinators Karmaklubb* helped shape this research. Peacock’s interviews are staged within the Museum’s dramatic display of works by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943), reminding that lived experience for both normative and non-normative bodies is modelled by body cultures of the past as well as present and future technologies such as social media, AI and CRISPR/Cas9. The interview questions were developed by Peacock and his fellow Perfection / Speculation residents: Marte Aas, Jonathan Armour, Louis Alderson-Bythell, Trinley Dorje, Erika Stöckel, and Bobby Yu Shuk Pui.
Keywords - Artificial Intelligence, Bio-Technology, CRISPR-Cas9, Gene Editing, Metaverse, New Media, Post-Ontology, Transhumanism
THE VALIDATION JUNKY Installation
Ram Galleri Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
VALIDERINGSØPPELET [detail]
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
Norwegian-English translation—The Validation Garbage
Digitally-drawn giclee print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Installation of nine frames, 332(h) x 242 (w)cm
1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
PERFECTION / SPECULATION at The Vigeland Museum
Multi-Channel Moving Image 15:00 Mins, Variable Dimensions Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - PAH foto/Peacock/RAM
Multi-Channel Moving Image 15:00 Mins, Variable Dimensions Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - PAH foto/Peacock/RAM
PERFECTION / SPECULATION IDENTITY MAP
Double Sided A1 Explorer Map
Folding into 297 (h) x 105 (w) Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
“It has transcended the modern critique of the Kardashians—that we often see them as being fake, or being a symptom of a certain type of malaise. When in reality, the post-digital sees all people like that: for the post-digital, we’re all Kardashians.”
Mark Jarzombek (USA) is a Professor of the History and Theory of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
“In psychological terms beauty is homoeostasis, so I would never want to be a perfect person or perfect being because if so, then I’d have no place to go.”
Natasha Vita-More (USA) is the Executive Director of Humanity+ Inc., Founder of H+ Lab, Author of The Transhumanist Manifesto, and designer of Primo Posthuman.
“I think that one of the beauties of speculation is that you can prototype and map out scientific “what ifs” and ask questions. What if this happens? Do we want it?”
Lucy McRae (UK/AUS) is a science fiction artist, filmmaker, inventor and body architect. She is a Visiting Professor at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI_ARC)
“However, maybe we shouldn’t blame the algorithms, because people basically copy each other, don’t they? Very few people are original; maybe one in a million. Most people don’t have time to carve out their own path, or they aren’t brave enough to think for themselves— so they copy one other.”
Lev Manovich (RU) is the Presidential Professor at the Graduate Centre, City University of New York (CUNY), and Founder and Director of the Cultural Analytics Lab
PERFECTION / SPECULATION IDENTITY MAP [Future Body Prototype Sketches]
Double Sided A1 Explorer Map Folding into 297 (h) x 105 (w)
Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/PRAKSIS
Double Sided A1 Explorer Map Folding into 297 (h) x 105 (w)
Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/PRAKSIS
WE ARE WHAT THE INTERNET MAKES US - I
4k Digital Sculpture Moving Image 10 mins
1 of 5. London, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
4k Digital Sculpture Moving Image 10 mins
1 of 5. London, 2023
Photo Credit - Peacock/RAM
WE ARE WHAT THE INTERNET MAKES US - I, II, IV
4k Digital Sculpture Moving Image 10 mins
1 of 5. London, 2023
Photo Credit -PAH foto/Peacock/RAM
VALIDATION SKETCH I
Digitally-drawn giclee print and pencil on Hahnemühle Photo Rag
29(h) x 42(w) cm. 1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit -Peacock
VALIDATION SKETCH II
Digitally-drawn giclee print and pencil on Hahnemühle Photo Rag
29(h) x 42(w) cm. 1 of 1. Oslo, 2023
Photo Credit -Peacock
PERFECTION / SPECULATION at The Vigeland Museum
Multi-Channel Moving Image 15:00 Mins, Oslo 2023
THE VALIDATION JUNKY
PRAKSIS X RAM
Dedicated to Daniel Slotvik 1989-2023
VALIDERINGSØPPELET
Drawing, Adam Peacock
Production, PRAKSIS
PERFECTION / SPECULATION at The Vigeland Museum
Creative Direction & Concept, Adam Peacock
Production, PRAKSIS
Research Agenda Lead, Adam Peacock
Research Agenda Questions, Marte Aas, Jonathan Armour, Louis Alderson-Bythell, Trinley Dorje, Adam Peacock, Erika Stöckel, Bobby Yu Shuk Pui
Interviewees, Lucy McRae, Lev Manovich, Mark Jarzombek, Natasha Vita-More
Interviewer, Adam Peacock
Videography, Katharina Gellein Viken, Charles Kriel
Edit, Adam Peacock Studios
Location, The Vigeland Museum
Production Assistant, Bobby Yu Shuk Pui
PERFECTION / SPECULATION IDENTITY MAP
Document Design & Concept, Adam Peacock Studios
Production, PRAKSIS
Copy Edit, Adam Peacock, Rachel Withers
Research Agenda Lead, Adam Peacock
Research Agenda Question Development, Marte Aas, Jonathan Armour, Louis Alderson-Bythell, Trinley Dorje, Adam Peacock, Erika Stöckel, Bobby Yu Shuk Pui
Research Visits, BioArt arena in Norway (NOBA), Bioteknologirådet (The Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board), Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Henry Moore Foundation, Menneskeverd (Human Dignity)
Online / In-Person Research Presentations, Department of Archaeology Human Evolutionary Studies University of Cambridge, NFU - Norsk Forbund for Utviklingshemmede (The Norwegian Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities), Kreftforeningen (Norwegian Cancer Society), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Printing, Nilz & Otto Grafisk
WE ARE WHAT THE INTERNET MAKES US I, II, IV
Creative Direction & Concept, Adam Peacock
Photography, Lighting, Styling, Post-Production, Adam Peacock
Makeup and Prosthetics, Tamara Dickson-Jones
Production Assistants, Celia Tang, Dian-Jen Lin, Isabela Branca Gygax, Lara Gill
Model, I, Wing Yue Leung
Model, II, Hermione Fallon Callow
Model, IV, Thomas Wade Nichols
Exhibited at, Ram Galleri, Oslo Norway
Supported by Oslo Kommune, Kulturdirektoratet
With thanks to Nicholas John Jones, Kristian Schrøder
Ashley Austin, Carlos Pez, Chris Lynch, John Duff, Matthias Reichert, William Ainsley, Wei Hen Yui
Please click here for the press release PDF
WE ARE WHAT THE INTERNET MAKES US
We Are What The Internet Makes Us is an installation of five digital sculptures, each blinking, breathing and twitching. Over ten minutes, each character slowly morphs into five different ideological representations of an idealised or ‘perfected’ self in an experimental format of sculptural digital bodybuilding.
Developed with human models, the five characters are modified in post-production, looking directly into the camera and into your eyes, playing into Masahiro Mori’s psychological construct of The Uncanny Valley - the moment between your brain’s perception of a healthy human and a robot. We Are What The Internet Makes Us asks a series of questions; Who might you be if you could design yourself in any way imaginable? How is new media affecting how we perceive ourselves, and what role do society and technology play in self-mediation?
Keywords - Computer Science, Consumer Psychology, Cybernetics, Digital Bodybuilding, Digital Sculpture, Fashion Silhouette, Fine-Art, Human-Computer Interaction, Identity Design, Moving Image, New Media, Photography, Post-Humanism, Semiotics, Web3
Developed with human models, the five characters are modified in post-production, looking directly into the camera and into your eyes, playing into Masahiro Mori’s psychological construct of The Uncanny Valley - the moment between your brain’s perception of a healthy human and a robot. We Are What The Internet Makes Us asks a series of questions; Who might you be if you could design yourself in any way imaginable? How is new media affecting how we perceive ourselves, and what role do society and technology play in self-mediation?
Keywords - Computer Science, Consumer Psychology, Cybernetics, Digital Bodybuilding, Digital Sculpture, Fashion Silhouette, Fine-Art, Human-Computer Interaction, Identity Design, Moving Image, New Media, Photography, Post-Humanism, Semiotics, Web3
We Are What The Internet Makes Us - I
4k Moving Image, 10 mins, 2023
Variable Dimensions
4k Moving Image, 10 mins, 2023
Variable Dimensions
We Are What The Internet Makes Us - II
4k Moving Image, 10 mins, 2023
Variable Dimensions
4k Moving Image, 10 mins, 2023
Variable Dimensions
We Are What The Internet Makes Us - III
4k Moving Image, 10 mins, 2023
Variable Dimensions
4k Moving Image, 10 mins, 2023
Variable Dimensions
We Are What The Internet Makes Us - IV
4k Moving Image, 10 mins, 2023
Variable Dimension
4k Moving Image, 10 mins, 2023
Variable Dimension
We Are What The Internet Makes Us - V
4k Moving Image, 10 mins, 2023
Variable Dimensions
4k Moving Image, 10 mins, 2023
Variable Dimensions
WE ARE WHAT THE INTERNET MAKES US
Artist - Adam Peacock
Photography, Lighting, Styling, Post-Production - Adam Peacock
Makeup and Prosthetics - Tamara Dickson-Jones
Production Assistants - Celia Tang, Dian-Jen Lin, Isabela Branca Gygax, Lara Gill
Model, Character I - Wing Yue Leung
Model, Character II - Hermione Fallon Callow
Model, Character III - Brendan Howley
Model, Character IV - Thomas Wade Nichols
Model, Character V - John Kamau
Exhibited at - Yam Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico, for Zona Maco (2023), Royal Scottish Academy 197th Summer Exhibition, Edinburgh, Scotland [Character I] (2023), RAM Galleri Oslo, Norway [Characters I, II, IV] (2023)
Artist - Adam Peacock
Photography, Lighting, Styling, Post-Production - Adam Peacock
Makeup and Prosthetics - Tamara Dickson-Jones
Production Assistants - Celia Tang, Dian-Jen Lin, Isabela Branca Gygax, Lara Gill
Model, Character I - Wing Yue Leung
Model, Character II - Hermione Fallon Callow
Model, Character III - Brendan Howley
Model, Character IV - Thomas Wade Nichols
Model, Character V - John Kamau
Exhibited at - Yam Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico, for Zona Maco (2023), Royal Scottish Academy 197th Summer Exhibition, Edinburgh, Scotland [Character I] (2023), RAM Galleri Oslo, Norway [Characters I, II, IV] (2023)
AN ONTOLOGY FOR A FRAGILE MALE EGO
An Ontology for A Fragile Male Ego is an ongoing series of large-format illustrations that imagine the connections behind male identity expression within an infinitely complex new media age.
Building on architectural historian Mark Jarzombek’s ‘Digital Stockholm Syndrome in the Post-Ontological Age’, in which he rethinks the philosophical and anthropological basis of our ontology, the drawing series has been developed by creating two-dimensional visualisations from building a three-dimensional sculpture of a human body and brain connected to a smartphone. The drawings act as open worksheets as communication tools between computer scientists, anthropologists, AI specialists, and philosophers on the factors at play within the definition of self and develop a language to investigate the psychology of the ego and the mechanisms of testosterone on cognitive functions and identity expression for contemporary male identity.
Keywords - Artificial Intelligence, Body-Architecture, Cognition, Computer Science, Consumer Psychology, Cybernetics, Digital- Matter, Fashion Identity, Fine-Art, Human-Computer Interaction, Identity Systems, New Media, Ontology, Parametricism, Post-Humanism, Psychology, Web3
Building on architectural historian Mark Jarzombek’s ‘Digital Stockholm Syndrome in the Post-Ontological Age’, in which he rethinks the philosophical and anthropological basis of our ontology, the drawing series has been developed by creating two-dimensional visualisations from building a three-dimensional sculpture of a human body and brain connected to a smartphone. The drawings act as open worksheets as communication tools between computer scientists, anthropologists, AI specialists, and philosophers on the factors at play within the definition of self and develop a language to investigate the psychology of the ego and the mechanisms of testosterone on cognitive functions and identity expression for contemporary male identity.
Keywords - Artificial Intelligence, Body-Architecture, Cognition, Computer Science, Consumer Psychology, Cybernetics, Digital- Matter, Fashion Identity, Fine-Art, Human-Computer Interaction, Identity Systems, New Media, Ontology, Parametricism, Post-Humanism, Psychology, Web3
An Ontology for a Fragile Male Ego #3
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
127(h)x191(w)cm
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
127(h)x191(w)cm
An Ontology for a Fragile Male Ego #3 (detail)
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
127(h)x191(w)cm
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
127(h)x191(w)cm
An Ontology for a Fragile Male Ego #1 (detail)
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
191(h)x152cm(w)cm
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
191(h)x152cm(w)cm
An Ontology for a Fragile Male Ego #1
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
191(h)x152cm(w)cm
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
191(h)x152cm(w)cm
An Ontology for a Fragile Male Ego #1 (detail)
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
191(h)x152cm(w)cm
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
191(h)x152cm(w)cm
An Ontology for a Fragile Male Ego #2
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
127(h)x191(w)cm
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
127(h)x191(w)cm
An Ontology for a Fragile Male Ego #2
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
127(h)x191(w)cm
Digitally-drawn, hand finished giclee print, pencil & oil paint
127(h)x191(w)cm
AN ONTOLOGY FOR A FRAGILE MALE EGO
Artist - Adam Peacock
PERFECTION / SPECULATION
PERFECTION / SPECULATION is a research and practice-based investigation into genes, memes and the modifiable human body.
Developed with Norwegian arts and cultural catalyst PRAKSIS, the project is supported by a dynamic relationship between its partners: The Vigeland Museum and the nomadic queer club concept and conversational platform Karmaklubb*. Using the Genetics Gym project (2016-20) as a thematic reference, the project focuses on developing sculptural modifications of Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland’s work (1869-1943) as a centrepiece to investigate past and future constructions of gender, race, sexuality, age, body politics, and the notion of the ideal human. The project featured a party, exhibition, and talk series at the Vigeland Museum, exhibiting large format video and audio pieces projected against the internal courtyard over a curated evening of conversations and performances exploring research around genes, memes, and the modifiable body (2021).
In the summer of 2023, the project culminated in a four-part interview and research document with leading protagonists in the fields of new technology, identity, the body and the perception of self. Together, they provide a kaleidoscopic view of the impacts of new technologies on issues of identity and the human body. They variously reflect on the ways that algorithm-driven trends shape senses of (embodied) selfhood and desires relating to body image. Also under consideration are the ethical implications that arise when bio-technologies, perceptions and constructions of self, body modification and big data collide.
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
Developed with Norwegian arts and cultural catalyst PRAKSIS, the project is supported by a dynamic relationship between its partners: The Vigeland Museum and the nomadic queer club concept and conversational platform Karmaklubb*. Using the Genetics Gym project (2016-20) as a thematic reference, the project focuses on developing sculptural modifications of Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland’s work (1869-1943) as a centrepiece to investigate past and future constructions of gender, race, sexuality, age, body politics, and the notion of the ideal human. The project featured a party, exhibition, and talk series at the Vigeland Museum, exhibiting large format video and audio pieces projected against the internal courtyard over a curated evening of conversations and performances exploring research around genes, memes, and the modifiable body (2021).
In the summer of 2023, the project culminated in a four-part interview and research document with leading protagonists in the fields of new technology, identity, the body and the perception of self. Together, they provide a kaleidoscopic view of the impacts of new technologies on issues of identity and the human body. They variously reflect on the ways that algorithm-driven trends shape senses of (embodied) selfhood and desires relating to body image. Also under consideration are the ethical implications that arise when bio-technologies, perceptions and constructions of self, body modification and big data collide.
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 Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
Still from ‘Perfection / Speculation In Conversation With Lucy McRae; Body Architecture, Genetic Editing & Self-Transcendence’,
Videography, Katharina Gellein Viken & Charles Kriel, 2023
Videography, Katharina Gellein Viken & Charles Kriel, 2023
Selection from,
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
Adam Peacock x PRAKSIS x The Vigeland Museum x Karmaklubb*,
‘Perfection/Speculation’ party; ‘Queering the museum’ at the Vigeland Museum,
Photo by Julie Hrnčířová, 2021
‘Perfection/Speculation’ party; ‘Queering the museum’ at the Vigeland Museum,
Photo by Julie Hrnčířová, 2021
Still from ‘Perfection / Speculation In Conversation With Natasha Vite-More; Beauty, Transhumanism & The Disease of Aging’,
Videography, Katharina Gellein Viken & Charles Kriel, 2023
Videography, Katharina Gellein Viken & Charles Kriel, 2023
Selection from,
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
Selection from,
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
Selection from,
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
Adam Peacock x PRAKSIS x The Vigeland Museum x Karmaklubb*,
‘Perfection/Speculation’ party; ‘Queering the museum’ at the Vigeland Museum,
Photo by Julie Hrnčířová, 2021
‘Perfection/Speculation’ party; ‘Queering the museum’ at the Vigeland Museum,
Photo by Julie Hrnčířová, 2021
Selection from,
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
Selection from,
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
Selection from,
‘Perfection / Speculation Clash’,
Made by P/S Film Clash Group,
Moving Image, 14 mins, 2023
‘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
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
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
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’
PERFECTION/ SPECULATION
THE CONVERSATION
Four interviews: Natasha Vita-More, author of The Transhuman Manifesto; Mark Jarzombek, Professor of History and Theory of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); artist and digital culture theorist Lev Manovich, and science-fiction artist, filmmaker, inventor and body architect, Lucy McRae.
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.
PRAKSIS Residency 18: Perfection / Speculation
Developed with, Adam Peacock
Collaborators, KarmaKlubb*, The Vigeland Museum, Danai Papadimitriou
Residents, Marte Aas (NO), Jonathan Armour (UK), Louis Alderson-Bythell (UK/DK), Trinley Dorje (CA), Saleh Kashefi (IR), Adam Peacock (UK), Erika Stöckel (SE/NO), Lior Tamin (IL) and Bobby Yu Shuk Pui (HK/NO)
Perfection / Speculation Research Agenda Lead, Adam Peacock
Perfection / Speculation Research Agenda & Clash Video Project, Marte Aas, Jonathan Armour, Louis Alderson-Bythell, Trinley Dorje, Adam Peacock, Erika Stöckel, Bobby Yu Shuk Pui
Perfection / Speculation Clash Video Project Edit, Louis Alderson-Bythell, Bobby Yu Shuk Pui
Perfection / Speculation Research Film Creative Direction, Adam Peacock
Perfection / Speculation Research Film Videography, Katharina Gellein Viken, Charles Kriel
Perfection / Speculation Research Film Edit, Adam Peacock Studios
Perfection / Speculation Research Film Assistant, Bobby Yu Shuk Pui
Perfection / Speculation Research Film Produced by, PRAKSIS
Perfection / Speculation Research Document Edit, Adam Peacock, Rachel Withers
Perfection / Speculation Research Document Design, Adam Peacock Studios
Perfection / Speculation Research Document Produced by, PRAKSIS
Research Visits Made To, BioArt arena in Norway (NOBA), Bioteknologirådet (The Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board), Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Henry Moore Foundation, Menneskeverd (Human Dignity)
Online / In-Person Research Presentations From, Department of Archaeology Human Evolutionary Studies University of Cambridge, NFU - Norsk Forbund for Utviklingshemmede (The Norwegian Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities), Kreftforeningen (Norwegian Cancer Society), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Perfection / Speculation Guests, Alette Reinholdt, Ana María Bresciani, Daniel Marablanca, Danja Burchard, Maike Statz, Emmer Stower, Hege Tapio, Jarle Strømodden, Jonathan Goodman, Kristin Rudstaden, Ingrid Vatnar Eikje, Sigrid Bratlie, Stine Hufthammer Indrelid, Geir Haraldseth, Frida Marida, Cassie Brøskive
Perfection / Speculation Dinner Hosts, PRAKSIS Oslo; Charlotte Teyler, Nicholas John Jones, SuperTed the dog
Supported by Oslo Kommune, Kulturdirektoratet
Please click here for the Press Pack and download the full project assets.
GENETICS GYM
A dedicated project website is available here
The Genetics Gym is a narrative installation investigating human cognition of genes ‘genetics’ and memes ‘memetics’ as appeal, attraction, or beauty.
The Genetics Gym is a research project depicting a calculated fiction of modified bodies across five fictional brands, edited with hypothetical new and emerging genetic technologies, allowing in-depth exploration to question how the internet affects human behaviour. The project, spanning five years (2016-2021), is built upon the Darwinian construct that what an evolutionary biologist might term perception of genetic strength, we might term appeal, attraction, or ‘sexiness’, now playing out in a vastly complex new media age. The project builds upon Marshall McLuhan’s theories on electric circuitry as an extension of the central nervous system, Norbert Weiner’s cybernetic theories, and evolutionary psychology. As ongoing speculation, the project is designed to engage varied audiences and perspectives in a multi-layered conversation on the effects of new media today. The project emphasises marginalised identities and homogenisation by observing the link between the cognitive perception of genes and visual appeal in contemporary popular culture.
The Genetics Gym was developed as a component of the 2016 Design Residency at the Fashion Space Gallery at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, in collaboration with UCL’s Human Genetics and Embryology department and London College of Fashion’s Digital Anthropology Lab and Applied Psychology in Fashion department.
Keywords - Artificial Intelligence, Bioethics, Computer Science, Consumer Psychology, CRISPR-Cas9, Cultural Analytics, Fashion Futures, Fashion Identity, Fashion Silhouette, Fine Art, Genetics, Identity Systems, Modifiable Bodies, New Media, Ontologies, Post-Humanism, Sculpture, Web3
Brain-Body-Society, 2017,
Graphic Illustration conceptualising the connection between
cognition of visual proportions and mathematics,
and appropriation of individual bodies
Graphic Illustration conceptualising the connection between
cognition of visual proportions and mathematics,
and appropriation of individual bodies
Install View, Genetics Gym
Fashion Space Gallery, 2017
Fashion Space Gallery, 2017
Body Scanning with Facial Tracking, 2017
Illustration: Brain-Body-Society, Character no5
Gallery visitors observe the characters blinking, breathing,
moving and slowly morphing between the five different ‘
perceptions of success’
moving and slowly morphing between the five different ‘
perceptions of success’
Character Number One, body edited according to the
first brand’s ideology or ‘perception of success’
first brand’s ideology or ‘perception of success’
Illustration: Brain-Body-Society, Character no1 (detail)
Illustration: Brain-Body-Society, Character no1
Research document showing brand outlines aligning
with the five characters to create twenty-five portraits,
including the ‘menu’ of genetic components required
for the body-morphs situated within gallery installation
with the five characters to create twenty-five portraits,
including the ‘menu’ of genetic components required
for the body-morphs situated within gallery installation
Research document
Research document (detail)
Research document showing five different drivers defining scope for theoretical context study; Genetic Tech Development, Photographic Tech Development, Shift in Media / Human Interaction, Shift in Public Anxiety, Perception of Disability, 1975 - 2045
Research document (detail)
Research document (detail)
Character Number Five, body edited according to the first brand’s ideology or ‘perception of success’
GENETICS GYM
Commissioned by the Fashion Space Gallery
Artist - Adam Peacock
Project Management - Fashion Space Gallery Team
Research
Research Lead - Adam Peacock
Applied Psychology Consultant - Prof. Carolyn Mair (London College of Fashion)
Genetic Technology Consultant - Dr. Helen C. O’Neill (UCL)
Genetic Technology Research - Ashley Campbell, Liane Stein (UCL)
Research Assistants - Dian-Jen Lin, Isabela Branca Gygax, Lara Gill (London College of Fashion)
Research Workshop Attendees, Design - Dian-Jen Lin, Hew Wang, Jo Cope, Siyang Meng, Voranida Rujekitnara, Yuqing Lai (London College of Fashion), Anderson Dalle Laste (London College of Communication)
Research Workshop Attendees, Psychology - Prof. Roberta Degnore (Fashion Institute of Technology NYC), David Adams, James Boag (London College of Fashion)
Research Workshp Attendees, Genetic Technology - Dr. Helen C. O’Neill, Ashley Campbell, Liane Stein, Rachel Ho (UCL)
Research Workshop Photography - Celia Tang (London College of Fashion)
Research Symposium Chairs - Adam Peacock & Lynne Murray (Digital Anthropology Lab)
Research Symposium, on Social Policy & Mental Health - Duncan Stephenson (Royal Society for Public Health)
Research Symposium, on Genetic Technology - Prof. Joyce Harper (UCL), Dr. Helen C. O’Neill (UCL)
Research Symposium, on Synthetic Biology & Speculative Bodies - Dr. Agatha Haines (Cognovo Research Lab)
Research Symposium, on Plastic Surgery - Dr. Barry M. Jones (Royal College of Surgeons)
Research Symposium, on Computer Science - Henrique Mathias (Feeld)
Production
Videography, Post-Production, Styling - Adam Peacock
Sound Artist - Timothy Wang aka TWANG
Makeup Artist - Tamara Dickson-Jones (London College of Fashion)
Production Assistants - Celia Tang, Dian-Jen Lin, Isabela Branca Gygax, Lara Gill (London College of Fashion)
Technical Equipment - Adam Grice, Alex Burgess, Dimitrios Coumados, James Montgomery, Kate Allen
Model Casting - Adam Peacock / The Validation Junky
Model Number One - Wing Yue Leung
Model Number Two - Hermione Fallow Callow
Model Number Three - Brendan Howley
Model Number Four - Thomas Wade Nichols
Model Number Five - John Kamau
Graphic Illustrations Drawings - Adam Peacock
Graphic Illustrations Printing - theprintspace
Research Document Production - Adam Peacock
Dissemination
Exhibition Design - Adam Peacock
Technical Install - Fergus O’Connor, Manoj Mistry, Steven Legget
Exhibition & Behind-The-Scenes Photography & Videography - Adam Peacock, Dian-Jen Lin, Isabela Branca Gygax, James Sanders, John Duff
Exhibition & Behind-The-Scenes Photography & Videography Edit - Adam Peacock, Isabela Branca Gygax
With ongoing support by Praksis Oslo, Arts Council Norway, City of Oslo, Science Gallery Dublin, Science Gallery Melbourne, Reproductive Science and Women's Health MSc, University College London, Digital Anthropology Lab, University of the Arts London
The project would not have been possible without the generosity of conversation, critique, ideas, wisdom, energy, and patience from - Adrien Weinert, Alex McIntosh, Charalambos Demetriou, Charlotte Baker, Dai Rees, Eelko Moorer, Frances McGarry, Janne Baetsen, Lara Sanjar, Mouhannad Al-Sayegh, Neil Hubbard, Nigel Luck, Nilgin Yusuf, Peter Hill, Susan Postlethwaite, Ted Hunt, Yener Bayramoglu, Zowie Broach
Exhibited at - ‘JUMPSTART’, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Monterrey and Mexico City, Mexico (2022-23), ‘Perfection / Speculation’, Vigeland Museum, Oslo, Norway (2021), ‘PERFECTION’, Science Gallery Dublin, Ireland (2019), PERFECTION: Part Experiment / Part Exhibition’, Science Gallery Melbourne, Australia (2018), Fashion Space Gallery, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, UK (2017)