PROTECTOR
SERIES
A series of sketches and intuitive clay experiments revolving around a "leo protector"--an amalgamation of the tarot Strength card that held me throughout the early pandemic times, and an imagination of what my *BEI (Belief Entity Identifier aka robot animal familiar friend) would look like.
Ever since joining *The Revolution School in summer of 2020, and working on the BEI project, I have been trying to visualize my robot companion, what my needs are and what our relationship would be like. I am seeking a protector of my heart, a decompressor, a way to regulate my nervous system and help me out of bed. I visualized iterations of this leo protector through clay-- a medium that naturally calms me down, for its earthly and literal grounding force. I used to be confused about my seemingly opposing use of clay and my involvement with the BEI project that deals with AI. They are both technologies that feel distant from one another, one ancient, and one rapidly hurtling us toward the future at an unnerving pace.
*The Revolution School:
The Revolution School is an open collective of artists, magicians, activists, hackers, academics, psychokinetics, witches, scientists, healers, empaths, thieves, chemists, archivists, gamers, freaks, friends, allies, and enemies (aka Superheroes and Scroogers). The collective began in August 2020 as a Commonwealth and Council Summer School program, “The Revolution: Operation Scrooge and League of Superheroes,” facilitated by Jennifer Moon.
* A BEI 🤖🐙 (Belief Entity Identifier; pronounced ‘bae’) is trauma-informed somatic AI and machine learning in the form of a robot animal. Connecting to our autonomic nervous system, BEIs 🤖🦥 are trusted and beloved companions helping us process cyclical underlying traumas and feelings that are produced by and perpetuate systems of oppression. My Little BEI’s 🤖🦆 ultimate forms are an infinite variety of fantastical, lifelike robot animals—a furry kitten, a scaly companion, a fantastical beast—co-designed with your gut microbiota that performs complex diffractive analysis rooted in quantum physics. As The Revolution School collaborates with computer scientists, bioengineers, neurologists, somatic therapists, robot engineers, etc., we will emerge as BEIs 🤖🐛 for each other before we co-produce one.
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