Fieldworks, Survival Kits and Conversation Pieces Confronting the Invisible Punishing Machine…

Nov. 2010 – Present

In the fall the Society came to a revelation. We realized that even when the invisible punishing machine (def.) is everywhere, creeping into our bodies, lives and spaces, like a colossal architectural nightmare; we feel the need to challenge this machine in the most intimate and modest ways. In other words, whether we are living in the most adverse or the most comfortable conditions, we can’t give up. From this perspective, we have embarked on a yearlong multifaceted discursive work that seeks to unravel this contemporary condition and use this material for our final thesis project.

We have begun to facilitate an interactive and dialogical work called The Weight I Carry with Me. In part, this is a fieldwork that involves Mabel Negrete bearing the stories of those imprisoned on her back while she initiates one-on-one guided conversations with random participants in formal as well as informal locations. Each of these conversations has been directed to reflect on our dreams and nightmares. They  combine to create  a poetic and philosophical narrative about what we are witnessing in the USA when invisible punishment, incarceration and torture have become the main means for solving social issues.

The Weight I Carry with Me began in November 2010 and has led conversations with a pool of people acquainted with the Society. One group of participants comes from the Society’s group of friends, colleagues and acquaintances in Cambridge, MA and in San Francisco, CA.  Another group comes from the gallery Lost Coast Culture Machine which has organized the exhibition HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS in Fort Bragg, CA, (December 3^rd, 2010 through January 30^th, 2011).

So far in the process of these conversations, we are realizing that as the artist and participants share their personal stories, they are also exchanging information, coping mechanisms, new ideas for interrogative remedies and an understanding of historical traumas, state violence, human cruelty, and the injustice that weaves throughout the history of this country.

As the project continues we expect the weight we carry to grow and change in shape.

So stay tuned!

TCNS production team for this project: Mabel Negrete (Lead Artist), Axel Herrera (Sound Artist), and Fiona Glas (Support Artist).

For performance updates and more information about this project >> click here

To download and print flyer >> click here

John Hulsey is a socially engaged artist and filmmaker who lives and studies in Cambridge, MA. He contributed with critical evaluation, processes and writing for the manifesto of Glaciers_Under Our Skin project. He is currently undertaking his PHD at Harvard. — Website: http://www.jhulsey.net

Marguerite Davenport is a photographer and holds a BA from Smith College in Pan-African Studies and International Relations. She is currently developing with her colleague in Kenya a literacy program. She has contributed as researcher for the Racial Pre_Filing Vest and as photographer for the Sensible Housing Unit.

Axel Herrera is a composer sound artist who lives and works in San Francisco. He contributed with a symphonic poem for the installation of the Sensible Housing Unit project.

Denis Maxwell is a videographer and assisted with the production of the Restless Sleep project.

Alli Spector is a performer, activist and radical artist based in San Francisco. She contributed with an experimental performance for the Subliminal Sketches of a SHU.

Victoria Restler is a producer, curator and artist based in New York. She contributed with research and writing to the Subliminal Sketches of a SHU.

Jose Negrete is a storyteller and mayor contributor to the You and Me project. He is currently surviving from imprisonment in the California State Prison.

Fernando Marti is a San Francisco based architect working in the field of radical urban planning. He was a major contributor for the Thinking of You project and initial studies for the Hunting the Now. — Website: Main Profile & Portfolio

Fiona Glas is a San Francisco based clinical social worker practicing in the field of radical art therapy. She was contributor to the projects of Thinking of You, Hunting the Now and Sensible Housing Unit. She is now a friendly advisor and occasional contributor.

Chris Carlsson is a San Francisco based writer, historian, activist and creator of numerous cultural projects. He is also friend of “the society” for occasional consultancy, for some ideas or info on local history. He was a historian and editor to the making of Hunting the Now project. — Websites: Main Profile | The Nowtopian | FoundSF | Critical Mass |