The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a rad channel...
(With apologies to William Gibson.)
Honored samurai, ruthless ronin, wayward vagabonds, shadowy ninja and helpless villagers... welcome.
Opening Volley
It’s been a little bit too long since my last newsletter, but I needed the time to refresh. Moving on...
Transhumanism
Scifi media has long given us glimpses of what the world may be like in the far future — humans who no longer resemble us or with incredible adaptations, societies that have adapted far more open-mindedness that (especially in 2022’s highly-charged political climate) seems is utterly terrifying for some and heartbreakingly out-of-reach for the rest of us, medical wonders that extend our time on this earth beyond the “expected”, technology helping us create in new ways.
Most of us only think of transhumanism/posthumanism within the realm of science fiction because surely something as grand and “advanced” as that is not within our reach.
Not so says... HALLIDONTO. I agree. The future is now and we should not ignore our potential. Unevenly distributed? All the more reason to hack, jury-rig and develop on our own. Spark the originality. Embrace the wild-tech. Meet the world on our own terms. Lest I speak out of turn or out of sync with Hallidonto though, I’m going let him speak for himself.
“This is the Path I Walk”
HALLIDONTO, futurist, thinker, polymath, a contemporary visual artist/poet from Dundee, Scotland, based in London England.
Hallidonto’s practice and research is centered around his “Cyborgia Manifesto” his work is multifaceted, with many layers of meaning. From a complex imagination associated with various media contexts in relation to the future, his visual discourse is motivated by transcribing the sociological developments of our age, the evolution of the human substrate, and its reflection of the future state of humankind; raises questions of what it means to be human within our digital lives, and what was once Human in an ever-evolving technological landscape.
Hallidonto’s work brings together philosophy, postmodernism, and notions of the flesh with the mediated body through drawn revelations of the technological self.
Hallidonto is a well-established artist who prides himself in his ability to produce work inconsistent large-scale quantities while maintaining a process that is both methodical and informed by historical text and media. His practice to date has seen the production of hundreds of pieces of work, including paintings, drawings, poetry, and VR painting and sculpture, with collections purchased by museums in London, Dundee, Edinburgh, and New York.
Hallidonto is recognized as a champion developer of digital arts, seen particularly as an early advocate for VR tooling, and has an interest in CryptoArt, a growing art market. Working with digital technologies is an ever-changing cycle that Hallidonto has proven to thrive in. He has the ability to work across mediums and platforms to produce a multimedia commentary on the evolution of humanity in the digital age.
Hallidonto has contributed to international debate and policy-making on the topics of artificial intelligence, robotics, and human augmentation, having been invited as a panelist on multiple high-profile speaking engagements, including the BBC, the V&A Dundee, the Festival of Imagination (Central Saint Martins), the Royal Academy of the Arts , and NEW REALITIES event at HERE EAST, and The Posthuman Forum at NYU.
Hallidonto’s work is a testament to the artist’s commitment to contributing to Posthuman/transhumanist philosophy and the international cyborg community.
(Video) Presentations: Royal Academy "Cyborgia Manifesto”
NYC Posthuman Forum with Dr. Francesca Ferrnando
No. 10 – Creativity, Posthumanism, Cyborgs with Artist and Poet Hallidonto
(Websites)
Birth of a Cyborg VR
Interview for the Scotsman for V&A Dundee - Robots Exhibition
In development Opera project;
Sanctum Cyborgia:
Sanctum Cyborgia is an artistic production created by the visual artist Hallidonto. Born and bred in Dundee, Hallidonto’s work combines traditional artistic practice with digital technologies to create a philosophical dialogue of what it means to be human in today’s increasingly connected landscape. Technology, and more specifically the integration of humankind with machines, informs much of Hallidonto’s practice, which to date has seen the production of hundreds of drawings, sculptures, writings, and digital artworks, focused on the flesh and how new technologies can become incorporated into contemporary artistic practice. He has now drawn together a team of creative practitioners to participate in Sanctum Cyborgia, a multilayered production which is an amalgamation of his work to date.
Having contracted a brain injury in 2006 which had a severe impact on his hearing, Hallidonto has his own interpretation of sense, much of which has been translated into the production’s focus on sensory input and alternative ways of experiencing the world. The production, both the VR experience and offline performance currently has two scripts in draft, which will aid in the decision-making around which immersive tech best suits the opera’s vision and social impact values such as accessibility, tech inclusivity, and economic sustainability.
Opening up the arts, and opera in particular, to a diverse set of audiences is one of the production’s values, which is partly informed by Hallidonto’s working-class background and role as an artist in Western society. It is for this reason that the project takes a multidisciplinary outlook, employing a collective of artists, designers, and communicators, who span lived experience and discipline.
With that being said the diversity of the team is a testament to our values and vision thus predominantly made up of strong women, ethnic minorities and working-class creatives. The experience and expertise within Sanctum demonstrates the desire/ need for creative convergence.
Parting UpShot
Most scifi lovers gateway media to escape the sometimes overwhelming blandness of the world around us. No one is more guilty than I. As both author and reader, I seek to engage with fantasy-fueled tapestries of yet-imagined worlds. Hallidonto engages on a whole level beyond by becoming the future-now as well as the future-when through development and lifestyle. While we dream of it, he breathes it.
Find Hallidonto on Twitter (via link above) and Facebook.
We never meet without parting
Next issue... Inspiring music from award-winning film & video game composer Siddhartha Barnhoorn and free fiction from Bubbles in Space series author SC Jensen.
Until then!
Made in DNA