Aim
How might I go about creating methods to realise emergent identities?
Test if this "emergent witch/cyborg identity" resonates with others.
How might deviance be built into this world?
Help people understand what they might be allowed to do and be in this space.
Precedents / context
I was really trying to take on Zoe's feedback last week, and bring participants into the space step by step, and with context. I know I needed to test perceptions of these words and identities, particularly what a "cyborg" might/could be. Also building on Ady and Mike's suggestions of ritualising the experience, to trap into the transformative potential of the witch/cyborg and the worlds they occupy.
I had also made those tracery poems, which I think get across the right sort of tone, so I thought I probably could use them to set up some context — either for another hubspace or just within their imagination.
Having also participated in some excellent workshops (Carmen, Adrian, Grace, Eugenie), I had a better idea of how I might go about designing a workshop so that participants feel supported in their experience through it, with enough context to feel comfortable to be and play in the space.
Process / methods
- I started by thinking about what I wanted to find out or test with this experiment. Continue world-building? Through characters and bodies? How would I construct this "experience — would I give participants a character or get them to make their own?
- I was also thinking about rituals and the mythic power/potential in world-building, and within cyborg-witch bodies and identities. Also the through-the-screen, online context of the workshops —very cyborgian, how might I use that to my advantage?
- Would I get them to think up their own origin myth? Think up an alternate body? What would I need to provide, for structure, and what would I leave open and up to the participant?
- Also tried to be conscious of Zoe's feedback last week of creating a "threshold", and creating a context for participants to step through, and into. "What/who might they be allowed to be in this space?"
- Also following on from last week's feedback, I felt that I had to test people's definitions of a witch and a cyborg. Or, test if that is changed through doing the workshop. I asked them to think of three words they thought described, or associated with both the Witch and the Cyborg. Some responses below:
- For a bit more context, I then showed and read aloud two excerpts from my contextual anchors, A Cyborg Manifesto (Haraway, 2016/85) and Why Witches (Gauthier, 1980). To be honest, I don't know if this was necessary or even helpful — after reading them, I saw a lot of confused faces, and I felt like I had to mention that I didn't need them to understand it fully. A few people explicitly said that they didn't understand the cyborg quote from Haraway. I probably should've spent more time unpacking this, or left it out.
- I think the tracery poems from my last experiment could set a really nice tone for the workshop, and the weird, fantasy dimension that I wanted everyone to enter into. I went through the poems and took out particularly evocative lines, that called upon the reader and were reflective of a potential hubspace. This would be a sort of "threshold" exercise; the words even ask you to take that leap into spaces and materiality that isn't quite real and perhaps doesn't make sense.
- Thinking about Mike and Ady's feedback to think about rituals and initiation rites into this world, I always had this image of reading something out loud, together, across screens and space. This is also an interesting way to bring in more of a bodily experience, using the body in a sort of ritual-speech.
- I had initially wanted everyone to share their cameras and form a "circle" with our video-feed planes. That way we could work off visual cues to know where everyone was up to, when the next word was coming and be more in sync. Also cool to virtually recreate a "summoning circle", or a similar witchy practice. However, in the workshops, this didn't work. My camera was working but no one else's was, so we just did it by listening and reacting.
- I decided I would get them to create their own character, but felt like there wasn't enough support and guidance on how to do this. Last week I had the birthday meme generator, but it was random and not based on anything of real significance. So I very quickly made a new one that just listed "titles", "cyborg-words" and "witch-words", and just as suggestions/options for people to choose from.
- However, when using this in the workshop, I wasn't explicit in stating whether I they should make a name based on their own identity and self, or create a character they just liked the sound of. I wasn't actually sure which would work better, but having run the workshops I think it would've been much more intuitive to base it off of themselves.
Zoe also mentioned last week that I should consider how others might relate to the witch/cyborg identity — is it a spectrum that they should plot themselves on? I thought about the other binaries that I've come across in my research, mostly from A Cyborg Manifesto (Haraway, 2016/85). Organism/machine, human/animal, natural/crafted, male/female. A spectrum of identity is definitely more open and inclusive than binaries, however, I think a left to right spectrum is still restrictive and reductive as a model, so I paired them up with each other to start visualising more of an intersection of identity. This moves it from a one-dimensional space into a two-dimensional plane. I was also inspired by Mulanne's workshop last week, where we did a similar activity. So the plan was to get participants to plot their/their assigned character/persona identity on each of these graphs.
Organism / Machine intersecting with Human / Animal
Magic / Code intersecting with Witch / Cyborg
Hyper-future / Primordial intersecting with Corporeal / Incorporeal
And Male / Female intersecting with Gendered /Non-binary. I think this one is still reductive in its axes, because it's a lot more fluid and subtle (third genders, trans identities, etc.) so I should do more research into gender identity and develop this mode of representation. Maybe this needs to be moved into the third dimension, visualised more as a cube? sphere, etc.
- Following on from the poem-spell-ritual — '/fly with me into cubes-borned scrying lake', I wanted that to be a literal invitation to activate the fly function in Hubs. (They would've already been flying to read the poem and Name Generator, because I put them in the sky, but I should've thought more carefully about the sequence of events.)
- Once they had plotted their character/persona on the graphs, I wanted them to think about their "body" might operate or be enacted through code or spells, through a ritual. What does it do, what does it want and how does it get that? This was an exercise in thinking through agency and how that might look different for different entities and bodies. E.g. if this character is on the incorporeal side of the spectrum, how might they act upon the world or other bodies — is it more of a mind-consciousness-connection-telepathy type thing?
This part was confusing to me, and I think I really should've taken more time to think it through and structure it better. I think another direction I was getting confused with is if they had thought about more of a persona for themselves, not a random character. I wanted to understand how they would design/create/enact their own threshold. How might they design a ritual to embody that persona or cross over into this world. This is why I think self-designed personas would have been more effective and intuitive in this workshop.
- Andrew's character/thoughts on workshop:
- Cyborg words: robot, augment, human. Witch words: broomstick, magic, cauldron.
- Character/persona: BigBratBrain Electrick (aura). A sort of electrical cloud entity, shooting out lightning bolts if angered. Some sort of deity-figure, you can see worshippers on the "ground"? Uses code as ritual, and collective consciousness+mantras. It is the embodiment of the electric pulses in the brain. Nebulous, everywhere but nowhere, flowing through space as a cloud. Placed in the Cyborg-Code, Non-binary, Hyper-future-Incorporeal, and Organism quadrants/axes.
- Thought it was good to have a range of words in the NameGenerator, to see what people are drawn towards, and give them options for contrast. Kind of gives you insight into what kind of person they are, and it's easier for them to build an image/the persona with those associations.
- Definition of Cyborg has been expanded doing the workshop — less physically restricted to 'robots' and 'machines', like his amorphous '(aura)' entity.
Expanded understanding of 'cyborg' came through having to imagine and reconcile the cyborg-word with something else, and moving out of individual associations. Also witches are so prominent in fantasy and make-believe worlds, whereas cyborgs are somewhat more situated in reality. This workshop changed his understanding of cyborgs more than witches because it helped expand an previously narrower definition.
- Genre-blending: play with the setting? How might that change people's perception of the prompt.
- Poem/ritual — scared of messing it up, but enjoyed it. A chanting, "team bonding" experience. Write your own mantras?
- Emma's character/thoughts on workshop:
- Cyborg words: robocop, code, robot. Witch words: spells, magic, hat.
- Character/persona — The Supreme Electrick Ghhoulz. Visually similar to Tokyo Ghoul (Japanese Dark Manga TV series)? Has electric powers after consuming RC cells (Red Child cells, in the Tokyo Ghoul world). Placed in the magic-witch, female-gendered, corporeal-primordial, organism-human quadrants.
- Cyborg —definitions/associations shifted. More conscious of tech, electricity, digital actants that are all around us, beyond actual, physical robots.
- Witches — hasn't really changed, but holds the idea of a 'fictional' witch and 'Salem' (historical) witch separately/side-by-side.
- The Name Generator too suggestive and prescriptive of gender, 'highness', 'queen', my bias pushing participants towards the female-end of the spectrum. She also pointed out that even the non-gendered entities e.g. Ghhoulz, had particular associations built into it that skew participants toward a place on the graphs.
I think the point about gender is super valid and something I need to think more about. Part of it was a conscious decision, to create a space for people and identities that are usually excluded or marginalised, but I need to figure out who this project and space is for, and if/how people who are not othered (white, straight, male, cis-gendered) might experience and partake in the experience.
- Didn't like the reading the poem-ritual — didn't see the point? And so just listened, which is totally cool. I got that it was pretty awkward and probably a bit lame, particularly in the moment!
- Hannah's character/thoughts on workshop:
- Character/persona: PixelDust See-er. More cyborgian than witch-like. Would be flying, and leaving a bit of a trail behind —'pixelDust'. More incorporeal.
Go to it for help with something. An exchange process-ritual? More of an aura — with some kind of gravitational force pulling the pixelDust together. The pink highlighter cloud is Hannah's illustration!
- This time around, the last bit of the workshop got really confusing for everyone and myself. I wasn't being very clear on the instructions or what I wanted, tried explaining it but I think that confused everyone more. Navira suggested that I give an example, so I showed them Andrew's which seemed to really help. Mentioned at the end that I should give examples to help them understand and visualise the same process and way of thinking.
- The mantra was really transportive... where were we going with it! And then bringing them into hubs straight after was really effective... kind of materialising that world. Really enjoyed going into and exploring the Hubspace too, having different spaces and moving in and out of them (on water, up in the sky, underwater).
- Navira's character/thoughts on workshop:
- Cyborg words: android, humanoid, cybermen. Witch words: salem, mystical, women
- Vending Majesty Esc Key En-tit-y. Non-binary identity, but has been assigned a "female" body — 'En-tit-y'. Has a solid silver satchel, but uses material to create magic and spells. Vague, etherial substance out of the this solid satchel carrier. Rituals: would summon them to obtain what they don't have... in need of vending properties. Asks you for privacy data — holds it hostage. Gave an example of granting someone a baby!
Uses traditional rhyming spells rather than code.
- After giving Andrew's example, Navira had a bit of a rethink. They've got 6 eyes and are all-seeing, all-knowing of the truth. When it conducts a spell, the eyes go blank and code runs through them. Did an illustration to visualise — titties important, as the name suggests, magical pulse/energy coming out of the nipples, creating an alluring aura and creating obsession in all people.
People still go to it for something — all knowing and seeing — not just in magic and spirituality, but the digital realm.
- Spell/poem/ritual was a great introduction into the world and these ideas. 'Cyborgs' and 'Witches' are not immediately similar or connected to each other. But doing the "mantra" really helped, she got "it"! Said she was able to see the concepts and words as I was seeing and understanding them.
- Character building feedback. Would've worked better if I told them to illustrate out of the name-prompts, or build up to with smaller warm-up exercises. E.g. Think of your character, and what they might look like based on their identity and "name". What would their purpose in this world be? What would their powers be? You need stuff like this to direct and support your participants in their play.
Reflection on action
- Seeing other people interact with these ideas and go through this process I've laid out was so useful. I was not sure if I was doing it right, and if I was actually testing my research and ideas going into it. And while there was a lot to be improved on and polished, the feedback seems to support that I was testing ideas of what a 'witch' and cyborg is/could be, and why they are interesting together.
Even something as simple as getting everyone to write three words they associate with each at the start, and reflect on that at the end was a nice condensed way to gauge what they and I had gained from the workshop. Almost everyone came out with expanded understanding of the cyborg figure, beyond a robot-like/android mould. Not much changed for the witch, but like Andrew brought up, she is already so mythologised and a also part of pop culture/history.
- I think Navira's points about needing to help people warm up to the exercises were excellent, and if I were to run this again, I would definitely work off those suggestions first. Also would refine the Name Generator, off Emma's point about my gender bias. I think just making sure that there's an even distribution of titles across the gender spectrum.
- I think the first go at the workshop (Emma and Andrew) went smoother than the second (Navira and Hannah) because though I don't think I was explicit about it (but I also didn't overcomplicate it?), Andrew and Emma intuitively got it, or based the character more off themselves??? The second time around a lot of problems surfaced and I realised a lot more context was needed.
- I was so happy to hear that the poem reading was well received by those who enjoyed it. I thought it was weird and funny!! and awkward, and it was super gratifying to hear Navira say that having done that, she "got" it. The flow into the hubspace and orchestrating the movement in there was fun and intuitive for me to think through, and getting positive feedback on that too was great.
I think these parts, knowing what worked and why, helps me understand that I know how to do this. The parts of the workshop that were most successful were the parts that I were excited about and had fun thinking about and setting up. I think for future (participatory) experiments and workshops, I need to trust that, and go with whatever I am gravitating towards. Also mapping it out more comprehensively, as a user journey like Zoe suggested, would definitely help iron out the kinks.
- Yes categories exist and sometimes they can be really helpful, but also combining them, smashing them together can lead to more complex, emergent identities. This workshop, and writing/reflecting on it now, has really clarified that I am exploring identity, in a emergent, intersectional space. The quadrants, the witch-cyborg coupling are all ways to break out of singular categories, and trying to find and test new methods and models to represent who we can be. This also really mirrors how Jacquie was talking about my topic last week.
- Cyborg-witch as a conduit-body through which you can explore intersectional-emergent identity. Not binary identities — more of a spectrum, and the spectrums are multiplied with each other. What do these fantastical powers/properties/bodies, and the coupling of paradigms and genres make possible? How might it extend or challenge existing ideas around agency and What or Who is possible, in our own identity. I really like the idea of multiplying intersections, and visualising this multiplicity of experience and identity, which started to emerge in the quadrants.
Reflection for action
I'm not sure if I will run this workshop again before the portfolio hand-in next Wednesday, which is the priority right now. I think I need to start moving everything into that document to take a look at everything, and work through it to tease out a trajectory, and tell that story. I should also make another progressive overview map to reassess how things may have shifted on a big-picture level.
But this workshop highlighted the most interesting directions that I could follow up with and develop — the ritual, performative aspect of the poem... and potentially spell/code? is a big one. The clarification of my research area as materialising/multiplying intersectional identity is I think subtle, but really important. Before my research was framed around witches and cyborgs, and bodies and identities coming out of that, but this flips it and potentially opens up more possibilities.
References
Gauthier, X. (1980), Pourquoi Sorcières?, in de Courtivron, I., & Marks, E. (Eds.)Newt French Feminisms: An Anthology, New York: Schoken Books.
Haraway, D., (2016). Manifestly Haraway, University of Minnesota Press. (Original work published 1985)
