Lamassu; Ebu; South Ivan Human Heads: Bearded River God

»South Ivan Human Heads: Bearded River God«
from the series »Material Speculation: ISIS«, 2017

»The 3D Additivist Manifesto«, (with Daniel Rourke), 2016
HD Video, 10:11 min., b/w, sound
Courtesy of Upfor Gallery, Portland, Oregon

 
At the exhibition from October 20, 2017 to August 5, 2018

»Material Speculation: ISIS« is a 3-D modeling and 3-D printing project focused on the reconstruction of twelve selected original artifacts (statues from the ancient city of Hatra and Assyrian artifacts from Nineveh) that were destroyed by ISIS (now referred to as ISIL or Islamic State) in 2015. The project creates a practical and political possibility for artifact archival, while also proposing 3-D printing technology as a tool both for resistance and documentation. It intends to use 3-D printing as a process for repairing history and memory.

»Material Speculation: ISIS« goes beyond metaphoric gestures and digital and material forms of the artifacts by including a flash drive and a memory card inside the 3-D printed object. Like time capsules, each object is sealed and kept for future civilizations. The information in these flash drives, encrypted in binary code, includes images, maps, PDFs, and videos on the artifacts and sites gathered in the last months before they were destroyed. 

»Bearded River God« is one of the sculptures following the »Material Speculation« series and functions as a USB dead drop; visitors can download the files related to the project, selected by the artist.

The sculpture is accompanied by »The 3D Additivist Manifesto«, providing a theoretical framework for the project »Material Speculation: ISIS«.

The Manifesto understands 3-D printers as a profound metaphor for our times. A technology for channeling creative endeavor, through digital processes, into the layering of raw matter excavated from ancient geological eras. 3-D fabrication can be thought of as the critical framework of Additivism: an eclectic mix of art project, online community, activism, ironic commentary, and revolutionary potential. Additivism – a portmanteau of »additive« and »activism« aims to disrupt material, social, computational, and metaphysical realities through provocation, collaboration, and science fictional thinking.