On James Bridle's exhibition 'Agency'
"In this exhibition cosmic powers are harnessed in small objects: talismans that operate the universe"
These works don't attempt to represent what we don't understand but to work on the same level as those 'invisible powers'.
"The artists draw on ancient methods to seize the sources of these corporations' power, materialise it, and divert it to different ends." Through the use of talismans.
Morehshin Allahyari's 'Huma' (bringer of fever) is invoked as the "cause and potential cure of contemporary heat from global warming." The figure is 3D printed ad "the digital process of patiently printing layer by layer resembles the rituals for calling up deities and powers", this asks the viewer to consider the temporality of the talisman and think long-term.
Anna Ridler presents 'Wikileaks: A Love Story' that uses AR to scan printed Wikileaks documents/emails and reveal real-life love stories. "The project treats human affection as a clandestine currency that survives intact by staying under the radar of newsworthiness."
What is humans' historical relationship with control/agency of the cosmos? Instead of astrology and inscriptions we now use our phones, "digital apps, our contemporary talismans."
Constant Dullaart creates a Facebook army of fake accounts under names of members of the 1700s Hessian army. He hopes to "declare war on the idea that quantified social capital represents quality" (BBC, 2015). However, maybe Facebook will notice and kill them off.