At the end of the residency, I have ended up here: Neighbourwhos? A prototype for making the neighbours (and neighbourhoods) visible.

In following the rules I became quite obsessed with making the online neighbours – that I love – visible. I asked network neighbours that I regularly interact with online (who I know by name but not necessarily in person) to make themselves known by creating, and submitting, a small video portrait of themselves (respecting, honoring by copying, the original Andrew Warhola, Jr).

However, network did not respond – I do appreciate it is a big ask; to take the time show yourself to someone you have not necessarily met, for a project that you have no control over.

So instead, and in obeying the market, I offered the task to online network workers – those that complete small jobs online for a fee. I created 4 job lots (all paid in $ – the original capitalist currency):
1) Write a description of one of your online neighbours
2) Write a a description of your online neighbourhood
3) Create and submit a 15 second video self portrait
4) Create and submit a 15 second video view from where you connect to your online neigbourhood

Excitingly, I received submissions from all over the world.
I am now presenting the content – the jobs submitted in return for a fee – in Neighbourwhos?

Read more...

And here we are, neighbours, copies and market, alltogether in a joyful embrace.

a New Reality: NeoReality

well, there is only a logo there for now, and you might find more interesting what is found here instead.

But things will change in a few days (ahhhh…. software glitches…. don’t we all love them? they make life so exciting….)

Let us explain:

Our neighbours: we’re kind of in love with our neighbours. We don’t stay in any single place for too long. We tend to move around. We have a house (in Rome) when we stop. But we actually don’t stop that much.

So our neighbors are the people we do things with. Our friends. People we get in touch with in multiple ways, be them analog, digital, bumping on the bus, whatever. For years or seconds. Neighbours are neighbours: we, personally, don’t have a place in which we “stay”; and we, globally, are living in a world in which “neighbour-ness” is not about space or physical proximity, but rather about doing things together, communicating, getting close through ideas and information.

Our closest neighbours, the ones which we feel closer than others when/where-ever we are, are in a bit of a crisis now. Many changes and very few definite things for the future. The crisis, someone calls it. We call it change. And change is good. But change needs to be understood, and it takes time, and struggle, and patience, and reaction, if you feel like it.

Read more...