Description
3/4 view of Taiwanese, gen z, digital nomad, female, sitting on a modern sofa. (Inflatable houseplant), -(Taiwanese ornament), (generic ornament), (hamburger), (what would utopia look like?)
This work began with a simple question whilst on an artist residency at Treasure Hill Artist Village, Taiwan: how might the life of my paintings be extended in digital space?
I make paintings of AI generated images, using traditional oil painting techniques. The subjects are fictional characters who may or may not have existed, or could in the future – a constellation of presences across different timelines. There is a spiral-like evolution in the process of making, a flux between the real and the digital. From this arose a curiosity about the potential for my paintings and these characters to reenter the digital space once again.
The concept behind the project stems from a period of observation and research into Web 3.0, with a particular focus on Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs). During the residency, I conducted fieldwork in one such organisation, FAB DAO, and became interested in the structure and possibilities that this new type of entity opens up.
“People are interested in DAOs in large part because DAOs represent the potential to decentralize the most centralized aspect of most people’s life – the need to go to work at a centrally owned and governed workplace” (Dávila, 2023). With this need eliminated people are increasingly likely to adapt to hybrid or remote work opportunities as well as the possibility to become digital nomads. The physical and virtual are becoming increasingly enmeshed. As we venture further into this ‘enmeshed territory’, I wondered how are the spaces we used before the inception of Web 3.0 being redefined and remodelled?
The home seemed the most logical place to explore this transformation. For thousands of years, the home has been a place where we impart our identity, taste, interests and desires; even Neolithic humans painted patterns on their stone walls. These new working styles enable people to work from home – wherever that may be. But, how do digital nomads adapt to continually moving between short-term lets and living out of a suitcase? The fictitious subject and environment within this work are a contemplation of these thoughts. The title is based on the prompts given to the AI, alluding to the specific concerns and possibilities of such an environment.
The animation was created in collaboration with fifteen members of FAB DAO. Each member assigned a colour to a specific element, which were chosen ‘blind’. The chronology they appear within the film reflects the order in which they were selected. The colours themselves are based on personal photographs I took in Taiwan during the residency, e.g. the wall colour is based on the exterior colour of Paiyun Lodge on Mount Yushan, and the sofa colour on the Jadeite Cabbage at the National Palace Museum.
Special thanks to FAB DAO, and those who contributed to this work: javaing, Swift Evo, GreenSofa | GreenPill Taiwan, Stanley, MossEW, Denkeni, yii, mashbean, haoenvski, resad, gim, xtzFusion, Gimmy, Uncle Danny|D, peili, and Bright Chang.
Dávila, J. (2023) Crypto Leftist Heuristics: What is a DAO? https://theblockchainsocialist.com/crypto-leftist-heuristics-what-is-a-dao/. (Accessed: 12 December 2023)