As part of Immaterial Labour Isn’t Working, we commissioned the design and research groups Metahaven and DSG to produced a collaborative project to be installed in, and distributed from, our project space. As we approach the last weekend of ILIW we wanted to showcase the their collaboration: VOID MYSTIQUE DNA (ISBN 978-0-9576316-0-1). Visitors to ILIW have been able to browse this unique “split-EP” monografesto, and even pick up a copy of this profoundly limited-edition book free of charge. Commissioned by Auto Italia, this collaboration sees the first joint project by two of the most exciting design think tanks working today. The opening of the VOID MYSTIQUE DNA project coincided with the UK launch of Metahaven’s new e-book, Can Jokes Bring Down Governments?  the two projects exploring and challenging the role and possibilities of publishing today.

This weekend will see the last events taking place as part of ILIW so don’t miss your chance to pick up a copy at one of these sessions:

Sat. 11th May, 6pm: (In)visibility and Labour (James Bridle, Will Wiles, Ben Vickers)

Sun. 12th May, 2pm: The Aesthetics of Immaterial Labour (Larne Abse Gogarty, Kerstin Stakemeier, Josefine Wikstrom)

Sun. 12th May, 6pm: Big Data, Social Networks, Data Selves (Alex Andrews, Ed Manley, Jay Owens)

Come and join us in our new space this Saturday 20th from 7pm for the opening event for Immaterial Labour Isn’t Working (full details below).

How to find us: Auto Italia South East, Unit 2, 3 York Way, N1C 4AE, nearest tube – King’s Cross, bus: 390 (stop: Randell’s Road).

Immaterial Labour Isn’t Working Opening Event, Sat April 20th 6-9pm:

6-7pm:

Harry Burke in conversation with Metahaven. This event is free but booking is essential. 

7-9pm:

Metahaven book launch, Can Jokes Bring Down Governments? Memes, Design and Politics

Deterritorial Support Group (DSG) and Metahaven book launch, VOID MYSTIQUE DNA

Auto Italia are pleased to present a new book by design think tank Metahaven: Can Jokes Bring Down Governments? Memes, Design and Politics, published by Strelka Press.

Can Jokes Bring Down Governments? is an essay on the political and revolutionary power of jokes and memes. It examines the fade-out of graphic design as a mediating force between institutions and the public and is part of an essay series published by Strelka Press, the publishing arm of Strelka Institute in Moscow.

Metahaven: “Carl Von Clausewitz famously said that war is a continuation of politics by other means. The austerity elites are indeed waging existential warfare on Europe, using an extra-political space which only they and other technocrats understand; a space where no citizen can find redress, unless they jump out of the frame once and for good. Beppe Grillo did it in Italy. Jón Gnarr did it in Iceland. Now is a day for jokes. A day for ridicule and laughter and protest and screaming and general strikes. Loathe the austerity elites, deface and unmask the technocratic superstructure’s lifeless avatars. Spraypaint, overload, bombard, name and shame austerity’s guilty overlords with jokes that pass through each and every riot shield.”

Also launching will be Metahaven’s new book with Deterritorial Support Group (DSG): VOID MYSTIQUE DNA (ISBN 978-0-9576316-0-1). Visitors will be able to browse this unique “split-EP” monografesto, and even pick up a copy of this profoundly limited-edition book free of charge. Commissioned by Auto Italia, this collaboration sees the first joint project by two of the most exciting design think tanks working today.

Metahaven’s Daniel van der Velden will be in conversation with writer and curator Harry Burke from 6pm. This event is free but booking is essential (click here for booking information).

Metahaven is an Amsterdam-based studio for design and research, founded by Vinca Kruk and Daniel van der Velden.

Deterritorial Support Group (DSG), a loose alliance of ultra-red communists, ran a blog during 2011 and is currently in the process of being open-sourced.

Harry Burke is a writer and curator based in London. He has written for Rhizome, Arcadia Missa Publications and Fulcrum, a publication based at the Architectural Association, and curated the exhibition Net Narrative at Carlow/Ishikawa.

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For more information about the talks and events taking place as part of Immaterial Labour Isn’t Working (April 20th – May 12^th) – click HERE.

Image courtesy of Metahaven.

We’re excited to announce the launch and first weekend of events as part of Immaterial Labour Isn’t Working.

Join us from 7pm on Saturday April 20th for the launch of Metahaven’s new e-book, Can Jokes Bring Down Governments? Memes, Design and Politics and to celebrate the opening of ILIW!

All events are free of charge, but you’ll need to book a ticket (except for Metahaven’s e-book launch). Click on the events below for more information and to book tickets, or go to our ILIW website:

http://iliw13.autoitaliasoutheast.org/schedule/

Here’s the schedule for Week 1:

Sat. April 20th, 2pm - Open Access Publishing - Alex Andrews, Alex Hern and Alex Vasudevan

Sat. April 20th, 6pm - Metahaven in conversation 

Sat. April 20th, 7pm - Metahaven e-book launch - No booking necessary, just come along!

Sun. April 21st, 6pm - New Luddism - Dougald Hine, Huw Lemmey, Luddites200 and Jay Springett

More events will be published in the next few weeks.

@iliw13  -  @autoitalialive  -  #iliw13

We were excited to be invited to present a new performance work as part of the RCA Curating Contemporary Art Graduate Exhibition. An event to accompany their show, No one lives here, The line where appearance flips over into reality was an evening of screenings and performances.

Expanding from the film we produced for Artissima LIDO, MY SKIN IS AT WAR WITH A WORLD OF DATA, Kate Cooper, Marianne Forrest, Andrew Kerton and Jess Wiesner developed a performative presentation for the event, focusing on images created for the original film re-presented with a live soundtrack composed and performed by Dan Bolger and voiceovers perfomed in the space by Marleen Boschen and Nat Carey.

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in the event – No one lives here continues until March 24th at the Royal College of Art.

Auto Italia’s Kate Cooper is in conversation with Stephanie Bailey in this month’s TANK magazine, discussing past and present projects, evolving formats for production and distribution, and frameworks for artist-run spaces.

Click on the image to read the article in full.