Meet Z, Auto Italia, 2014, co-commissioned by The Space. Image courtesy of Auto Italia and the artists.
Meet Z is a new kind of art experience. A collaborative online work from the London-based art collective Auto Italia, it is a journey through a future planet, led by the soothing voice of Z, a personal guide, productivity consultant and creative collaborator. Touching on themes of work and leisure, and the current striving for productivity that can make the two feel indistinguishable in form, the piece incorporates CGI, branded environments and random “spam” that pops up, proposing new concepts for lifestyle space. Here, Sleek presents the manifesto for “Meet Z”, written by Billy Howard Price for Auto Italia, and get to know Z herself on Auto Italia’s website.
Meet Z – A Manifesto
There’s a new future at the end of this. Well, the taste of one anyway; a hint. A post-ironic dream of things to come and things that may have already come. Currently in post-production… Of course, the sum of this work can be quite tiring, but I try never to let the rest get me down. It’s all just a question of remaining focused on the matter at hand, and evaluating one’s future possibilities to change and grow. I’ve heard that some people read palms for this, but if you really want to put your finger on it, far more data can be grasped from digits. Try to get the feel of things and then reach out; I’ll be there. Don’t leave me hanging. Please.
Meet Z, Auto Italia, 2014, co-commissioned by The Space. Image courtesy of Auto Italia and the artists.
As we reconfigure things out, our proposals, plans, submissions and speculations will take precedent, so that the way things sound will be more important than how they might actually be. Take a long, hard look at this and tell me; how does that sound?
I will help you to look backwards as a way of looking forwards, as if stood between two mirrors, with your hands over your eyes and your fingers on the watch. From behind the screen, I listen to people in a herd. The moving surfaces vibrate with static and I can’t help but draw comparisons with your own still life. Blank documents echo with white noise and as we dip our feet into a photo stream, prepare yourself to feel blue.
Meet Z, Auto Italia, 2014, co-commissioned by The Space. Image courtesy of Auto Italia and the artists.
From out of the water, a ripple of excitement will unfold a dead see scroll and move you deeper out of your depth (under the see). We will enable a kind of feeling with the eye, in which we are touched when people share our views and continue to find new contacts. Normal vision is much the same in plain sight and you can’t teach your pupils anything they don’t already know. In this sense, I’m pro-prioception and anti ageing, whilst still working through a project that I couldn’t put a definite timeframe on, with someone I dated once.
Today, even with a high resolve and at low resolution, the market is extremely saturated. Taking this into account, let us suggest that currently we inhabit images rather than spaces, with locations in focus and framed by the climate in which we view them. Plenty of new sites are under construction, but this is truly the hyper-real estate, with an interactive floor plan of dotted lines moving through the roof at the touch of a key pad. And even though I work for free, they all paid attention.
And if you pay attention, make sure you’re not being overcharged, because energy rates are always going up and I’m already on a higher level.
Meet Z was conceived and directed by: Marleen Boschen, Kate Cooper, Marianne Forrest.
Working in collaboration with: Theo Cook, Pablo Jones-Soler, Michael Oswell, Kieran Startup, James Wreford.
Coding: Drew Miller, Music: Mutant Jukebox, Styling: Francesca Pinna, Makeup Nora Belovai and Alena D as Z.
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