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criticism - divergence

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criticism - this revolution has been brought to you by amazing prime

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escape strategies - screen time anonymous

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gaze corner - male gaze

optimised beyond repair throughout history - hunter gatherer societies (pt 1 of 2)

escape strategies - from grindset to kindset

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gaze corner - memefication 1 of 2

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gaze corner - algorithm gaze (details)

optimised beyond repair throughout history - prometheus

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gaze corner - male gaze (details)

gaze corner - lacanian gaze

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criticism - what came first: the chicken or the shit?

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optimised beyond repair throughout history - hunter gatherer societies (pt 2 of 2)

criticism - me time is screen time

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optimised beyond repair throughout history

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tapestry part II - near future scenarios

gaze corner - algorithm gaze

criticism - tiktok bicycle

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optimised beyond repair throughout history - printing press goes witch hunt (pt 1 of 2)

escape strategies - crab mentality 

criticism - little prayer

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gaze corner - memefication 2 of 2

escape strategies - linked out

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escape strategies - manifest destiny

optimised beyond repair throughout history - printing press goes witch hunt (pt 2 of 2)

criticism - mysterious brain worms

graphic designs, music videos + animated films for various bands

merch + artwork

event planning

tapestry part II - near future scenariosthe world is going 2013s “elysium” (the blockbuster movie with judy foster), the 1% and the “commoners” seem to go their separate(d) ways.instead of concentrating all efforts on preventing disasters like the climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, hunger and other ordinary problems, the most powerful people on our planet have a little side hustle building artificial independent islands, bunkers and space shuttles. disasters get so much smaller when you have a plan b.original size of the paper tapestry was 2,52 x 0,297 m

products

comics

optimiszed beyond repair

obr broadcasting

poster designs

tapestry part 1 - historya succinct historic portrayal of some of the downsides of innovative progress.original size of the paper tapestry was 2,52 x 0,297 m

optimised beyond repair exhibition

broadcasting channel artist page art collection merch merchandise commissions artwork graphic design

browse through the whole exhibition

as they also started to domesticate and live together with animals, they fell ill with the animal’s infections.fun fact: the shift towards agriculture is also thought to be the dawn of monogamy. hunter gatherer societies are thought to had larger community bands of up to 20 people and their collectively raised children.

Welcome to my archives! This is the place where you can find my creative and intellectual output.

Welcome to the archives! "optimised beyond repair" was my first exhibition, shown at the<a href=" www.holeoffame.de" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> Hole of Fame e.V.</a> Dresden.Browse the menu sections to virtually stroll through the exhibition and click on individual images to read the info texts.

apart from time spent to gather food, people in prehistoric forager societies had lots of leisure. they freely changed their habitat in accordance with nature. however, by starting to grow crops, they had to start living in (semi-) fixed homes and schedule their lives around the care for their newly found food resource.

criticism - little prayer

gaze corner - lacanian gaze

optimised beyond repair throughout history - printing press goes witch hunt (pt 2 of 2)

The space-time-compression has been felt since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Since that time, people are longing for the promised liberation from labours tasks by machines with its consequential free time and independence has not been fulfilled (yet). What we got was a constant competitive pressure in the world of work, love life, and leisure time. In order to survive, it was and still is necessary to continuously optimise one's own working methods. This often leads to emotional exhaustion, reduced satisfaction with one's own performance, and work fatigue. In this context, Lauren Powers developed the critical concept of “optimization beyond repair,” based on the English expression “damaged beyond repair.”With this concept, Lauren Powers analyzes modern working methods in the digital and analog worlds. Smartphones, for example, collect data about our sleep and promise to monitor one of the most important aspects of our health for us thanks to this sleep monitoring. At the same time, they keep us meticulously informed about new emails.A continuous drive for optimization coupled with increasing competition can also be observed in social media. Once intended as a place for smaller communities to network and communicate, social media has now become a business model for its actual users, characterized by mutual competition for attention. It is not only companies that try to advertise their products on these platforms; more and more private individuals are doing so too. 4.76 billion people – more than half of humanity – use social media. To survive on these platforms, it is necessary to stand out from the crowd with more content, images, and videos. Successful influencers currently recommend posting five to seven videos of yourself per day. If you don't follow this advice, the algorithm will punish you. What once began as a hobby is now, when done professionally, becoming a full-time job. Artists and cultural workers in particular, some of whom need years to create their works, are facing a crisis here.Traditionally, a deep understanding of technology and natural sciences, and with it the right to criticize them, has been attributed exclusively to men. During her seven years as a biologist, Lauren Powers came to the disillusioning and frustrating realization that this stereotypical thinking still dominates scientific work and interaction in STEM institutions. Frustrated that her own skills remained invisible within these structures when her facial features and tone of voice did not fit the stereotype of a “scientist,” she abandoned all attempts to conform to the male standard and has since consciously celebrated forms of expression and stylistic devices that are perceived as feminine or childlike. In her works, the supposed contradiction between an understanding of science and technology and a naive, girlish demeanor is thus resolved.

<ul><li>optimised beyond repair throughout history I - previous progressions</li><li>criticism</li><li>gaze corner</li><li>optimised beyond repair throughout history II - near future scenarios</li><li>optimised escapism</li></ul>

"Hey my love! I am so sorry but I can't do the revolution with tonight! Can we reschedule? | just really need a selfcare night in and watch the latest season of my favourite anti-capitalist tv show o amazing prime."

gaze corner - algorithm gaze

project description

section 5) optimised escapism

optimised beyond repair throughout history II - near future scenarios

commissioned merch design for Half Silks in 2023

optimised escapism - crab mentality

optimised beyond repair throughout history - prometheus

the world is going 2013s “elysium” (the blockbuster movie with judy foster), the 1% and the “commoners” seem to go their separate(d) ways.instead of concentrating all efforts on preventing disasters like the climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, hunger and other ordinary problems, the most powerful people on our planet have a little side hustle building artificial independent islands, bunkers and space shuttles. disasters get so much smaller when you have a plan b.original size of the paper tapestry was 2,52 x 0,297 m

gaze corner - memefication

english art critic john berger first used the term “male gaze” in his tv series “ways of seeing” (1972) to describe the treatment of nudity in european paintings. he used the term to describe his observation that women are the objects in many paintings, and it is men who do the painting.however, how we understand and use the term “male gaze” was coined by feminist film theorist laura mulvey in her essay "visual pleasure and narrative cinema” (written 1973, published 1975). the essay uses freudian psycho analysis and lacanian theory of the gaze to analyse film. in that she bases her concept of lacan’s original work on the mirror stage and the gaze, which he later revised. this explains the difference between the location of the gaze either on screen/in the painting or with the audience/spectator.in mulvay’s concept of the “male gaze” the audience observed the woman through the camera, the apparatus that provides the image. film made by men create a gaze that is masculine - when it looks at the woman the gaze wants to dominate, master and control them. women in the audience can internalise that gaze when they look at them self through the eye of the camera as if they are the woman in the film (it's called “empathy”, babes). women are not placed in a role where they can take control of the scenes in the film but instead are put there to be observed from an objectified point of view. therefore, the women are bearer of meaning not maker of meaning (barbie movie flashback!)based on lacan’s revised version of “the gaze”, a revised version of the “male gaze" could be as follows: when a women is looking at you from a movie and you are a man in the audience, she shows you your lack. she has a capacity to be full and whole that you don’t have. the man then objectifies the woman because of his own lack. therefore, the image controls the man.even though distanced from the intended meaning of lacan’s gaze, mulvey’s interpretation is a useful framework for film analyis and feminist discussions on women’s subconscious behaviour.

section 2) criticism

innovation that excites: the printing press was invented around 1440 and replaced labour and time intense handwriting of books by scribes.witch-hunting is not a medieval practice, as one might think, but a practice of the enlightenment period that came to existence in the aftermath of the black death (1346–1353) that purged one third of europe’s population - resulting in a labourer shortage. as many landowners were dead as well and the remaining labourers were in high demand, peasants gained power and confidence. the power struggles between peasants and their lords can be seen in peasant’s revolts all over europe (14th - 16th century). however, most revolts got struck down brutally and former power structures got reinforced. eventually, the shortage of labourers was at least partly overcome by the illegalisation of contraception and abortions. midwives and doulas, who held the knowledge to safe pregnancies and births as well as contraception and abortions, got burned for witchcraft.christians were mainly indifferent to the performance of witchcraft and sorcery up until the late 13th century. witches were thought to be individual actors and in extreme cases their crimes were punished by exclusion from their community. this can be seen in instructions formulated by pope alexander iv in 1260 in which he urged inquisitors to focus on the persecution of heretics.

Welcome to the archives! "optimised beyond repair" was my first exhibition, shown at the<a href="#" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> Hole of Fame e.V.</a> Dresden.Virtually stroll through the exhibition and enjoy all artworks with info texts.

hunter gatherer societies

optimised beyond repair throughout history -

"the tiktok bicycle - kick down, drool upwardsjust say the most sinister, bigoted things!rise to the top quickly, outrage = engagement!"

optimised escapism - from grindset to kindset

section 3) gaze corner

"my highest self does not excel under capitalism. the reasons remain mysterious ..."

this view of witches as individual actors shifted with contemplations by theologian and philosopher thomas aquinas. he envisioned a demon state run by demons and their seduced humans followers, thereby forming a strong opposition and political power against the church and christianity itself. in the 14th century, heinrich kramer wanted to prosecute more witches and have much harder sentences than simple exclusion from the community. however, his fellow inquisitors did not support him in his efforts. therefore, he wrote to pope innocent viii in 1484 and made his case against the witches. the pope innocent VIII was convinced and published "summis desiderantes affectibus", in which he not only acknowledged the danger of witches but explicitly empowered the inquisitors to prosecute witches and sorcerers. in 1487, kramer published his book "malleus maleficarum" where he used the word of the pope. moreover, to give his book a more worldly touch and authority he also put in faked approbations by local theological professors. he printed 30 000 (!) copies thanks to the printing press, which was invented only a couple of years earlier (1440). the book was reprinted between 1487 and 1600 and was accepted by roman catholics and protestants alike as an authoritative source of information concerning satanism and as a guide to christian “defence”.

Lauren Powers

section 4) optimised beyond repair throughout history II - near future scenarios

optimised escapism - manifest destiny

criticism - mysterious brain worms

adapted from “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” by theodosius dobzhansky. a multitude of observed phenomena can only be explained through uniting single concept. alternative hypotheses require (co-) occurrence of multiple, less likely events. comparably, various forms of discrimination and violence against marginalised groups can be best explained by the uprise and spread of white supremacy.

optimised escapism - screen time anonymous

the 5 sections of the exhibition

criticism - tiktok bicycle

“self care” was once the first step towards liberation of marginalised groups. sadly, the concept got co-opted by capitalism and was reduced to the mere consumption of products and content.there is no real leisure, rest or conscious awareness of one’s own body and mind in this bastardised version of self care.

in this classic greek myth, prometheus steals the fire from the olympian gods and gives it to humanity. for this transgression prometheus is condemned to eternal torment by zeus. he got bound to a rock, and an eagle (the symbol of zeus) was sent to eat his liver, which unfortunately recreated itself every night.in ancient greece, the liver was thought to be the seat of human emotions. prometheus is seen as the patron of humans and the creator of of technology, knowledge, and more generally, civilisation.

"do you know these gaze? these gaze, they're trying to murder me!" an homage to jennifer coolidge in white lotus.

optimised beyond repair throughout history I - previous progressions

this illustration is an adoption of the painting “the ambassadors” by hans holbein the younger (1533). the painting is often used to explain lacan’s theoretical concept of “the gaze”. it features a tilted blob at the bottom that cannot be understand at first. from a distance the blob becomes a skull.lacan had 3 main concepts: the imaginary, the symbolic and the real. the illusion of understanding reality and your mastery over it is the imaginary. as the spectator you look at the painting through an illusion of complete control, thinking you know what the painting was about even though you notice a confusing absence of meaning in form of the tilted blob. walking away from the painting you notice its gaze looking back at you. the painting completely changes. it takes over the imaginary and brings you into the real. the skull reminds you of death. the gaze disrupts the idea that you are a full whole. the symbolic comes in form of language and (iconic) signs. it offers categories that give you a sense of who you are. however, the real cannot be encapsulated in language, it resists language absolutely, resulting in limits to what can be expressed.climate change brings in the real: the horror is not that we destroyed nature, but because its shattering our illusion that we had control over nature/climate in the first place. the planet has control over us and we are at its mercy.this illustration portraits jeff bazos and elon musk with two display shelves between them. the shelf has 3 stages: on the top shelf are their rockets with a celestial globe, underneath floats a self-sustaining artificial island and the bottom shelf displays deep sea mining machines (used for mining of rare-earth elements). both billionaires often declare the importance of colonising mars and other exoplanets as the future of human civilisation. however, they fail to address who the humans are that are allowed to accompany them on their escape mission.(explanation of lacanian theory and the portrait by hohlbein are paraphrased from the episode “feminism is when women are stupid” by binchtopia.)

this paper tapestry shows a succinct historic portrayal of some of the downsides of innovative progress.original size of the paper tapestry: 2,52 x 0,297 m

"do I have adhd or can my tender human soul simply not flourish under capitalism?"

criticism - this revolution has been brought to you by amazing prime

humans are social creatures. we seek the vicinity of fellow humans and want to create connections. it’s our proven survival mechanism. not being seen or being seen the wrong way thereby signals danger and our potential demise.in a world with billions of people at your finger tips that could see you at any given moment - what view count signals safety to your subconsciousness?because invisibility feels like (social, financial) death, you start to rewatch your own content, you see(k) content educating you on how to increase your visibility. the algorithm sees you and computes your fate, i.e. how many people will see you. your performance is constantly, instantly, unavoidably evaluated, punished or rewarded. the reward is twofolds: 1) you feel validated by fellow humans = the consumers of your content and 2) you feel validated by the algorithm because you were smart enough to create and share such engaging content.how do female socialised people know the difference between liking make-up and liking the reward for performing femininity “correctly”? how do you know whether you like to create and share the (kind of) content you do create and share - or do you just like the excitement that comes with the potential reward?algorithms are a black box everyone tries to understand. their unpredictability/intermittent reward leads us to form an unhealthy attachment style with them. we get addicted to potential visibility, the potential to get rich and famous - or at least to form enough parasocial relationships to get an income via a subscription service (e.g. patreon).this is why social media are the perfect product: the product doesn’t cater to consumers but the other way around - consumers commodity themselves and form an unhealthy attachment and addiction to the product. even more, consumers recruit themselves to advertise the platform and its trends in form of trend forecasters and content strategists.is the gaze of the algorithm a gaze in the lacanian sense or in the sense mulvey coined it?

"dear tech billionaires,please let me never have a single original thought again. I will post all day, doomscroll all night, contemplate comments always. I am forever grateful for to you for numbing my mind and souls so I don't have to experience the agony about the broken planet and society you destroyed. thank you for redirecting my overbearing rage about this to people of my own class or below. as true gods here on earth you only give us the battles you know we can take.♥♥♥"

optimised beyond repair - exhibition 2023

optimised escapism - linked out

optimised beyond repair throughout history - printing press goes witch hunt (pt 1 of 2)

section 1) optimised beyond repair throughout history I - previous progressions

criticism - what came first: the chicken or the shit?

the world is going 2013s “elysium” (the blockbuster movie with judy foster), the 1% and the “commoners” seem to go their separate(d) ways.instead of concentrating all efforts on preventing disasters like the climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, hunger and other ordinary problems, the most powerful people on our planet have a little side hustle building artificial independent islands, bunkers and space shuttles. disasters get so much smaller when you have a plan b.

criticism - me time is screen time

✨💕 welcome to the optimiszed beyond repair universe 💕✨

the complete exhibition with info texts!

Welcome to the archives! "optimised beyond repair" was my first exhibition, shown at the Hole of Fame e.V. Dresden. <a href="//www.holeoffame.de" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-link-auto="" target="_blank">www.holeoffame.de</a>project descriptionThe space-time-compression has been felt since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Since that time, people are longing for the promised liberation from labours tasks by machines with its consequential free time and independence has not been fulfilled (yet). What we got was a constant competitive pressure in the world of work, love life, and leisure time. In order to survive, it was and still is necessary to continuously optimise one's own working methods. This often leads to emotional exhaustion, reduced satisfaction with one's own performance, and work fatigue. In this context, Lauren Powers developed the critical concept of “optimization beyond repair,” based on the English expression “damaged beyond repair.”With this concept, Lauren Powers analyzes modern working methods in the digital and analog worlds. Smartphones, for example, collect data about our sleep and promise to monitor one of the most important aspects of our health for us thanks to this sleep monitoring. At the same time, they keep us meticulously informed about new emails.A continuous drive for optimization coupled with increasing competition can also be observed in social media. Once intended as a place for smaller communities to network and communicate, social media has now become a business model for its actual users, characterized by mutual competition for attention. It is not only companies that try to advertise their products on these platforms; more and more private individuals are doing so too. 4.76 billion people – more than half of humanity – use social media. To survive on these platforms, it is necessary to stand out from the crowd with more content, images, and videos. Successful influencers currently recommend posting five to seven videos of yourself per day. If you don't follow this advice, the algorithm will punish you. What once began as a hobby is now, when done professionally, becoming a full-time job. Artists and cultural workers in particular, some of whom need years to create their works, are facing a crisis here.Traditionally, a deep understanding of technology and natural sciences, and with it the right to criticize them, has been attributed exclusively to men. During her seven years as a biologist, Lauren Powers came to the disillusioning and frustrating realization that this stereotypical thinking still dominates scientific work and interaction in STEM institutions. Frustrated that her own skills remained invisible within these structures when her facial features and tone of voice did not fit the stereotype of a “scientist,” she abandoned all attempts to conform to the male standard and has since consciously celebrated forms of expression and stylistic devices that are perceived as feminine or childlike. In her works, the supposed contradiction between an understanding of science and technology and a naive, girlish demeanor is thus resolved.

✨💕 welcome to the optimiszed beyond repair universe 💕✨

✨💕 welcome to the optimiszed beyond repair universe 💕✨

Welcome to my archives! This is the place where you can find my creative and intellectual output.

Lauren Powers

all images

✨💕 welcome to the optimiszed beyond repair universe 💕✨

Welcome to my archives! This is the place where you can find my creative and intellectual output.

Lauren Powers

all images