FOR UNTITLAB(R) SWIFT TREK COLLECTION.

SCORPIO MECHANISM

Walter Benjamin, in his essay “A Lyric Poet in the Era of High Capitalism,” portrayed the flâneur as a wanderer through the bustling urban landscape of Paris. This figure absorbed the city’s vibrant experiences while feeling a simultaneous need to distance themselves from it. It’s remarkable how this dualistic experience still defines the zeitgeist of our era. We navigate through a myriad of experiences, encountering subjectivity within the exchange of life’s intensity, willingly surrendering fragments of freedom for moments of exhilaration. However, this exhilaration often leads to a void. Through a series of existential trials, we come to recognize it as introspection—a Scorpio-like mechanism encompassing thought, self-renewal, and the critical process of self-reinvention.

The Interplay of Disruption and Reconstruction

Within this mechanism, there’s a constant interplay of disruption and reconstruction. It’s about establishing the legitimacy of our experiences, often expressed through the discourse of love and our interactions with others. This represents a counterattack against the inherent cruelty of existence, where our desires, as expressions of our existence, are seen as a sigh of life rather than cruelty.

The Mysticism of Self-Exploration

Simultaneously, a profound mysticism infuses this mechanism, creating an inexplicable, narcissistic inner unity that aligns with the subconscious desire for self-destruction. The exploration of death as a theme constructs a paradox: we can relinquish everything at any moment while maintaining absolute control over our lives.

The Performance Practice

In this performance practice, we harness the ritualistic ambiance of the underground club scene as a conduit, connecting the emotional tumult of individuals. Through haunting and ethereal musical performances, we recreate the landscape of subjective contemplation. The figures involved oscillate between the ever-changing contemporary world and the nostalgia of retrospection. They yearn to break free while simultaneously reaffirming their existence. Desire sparks interactions where the self mirrors the other, revealing the struggle of opposing subjects. The quest for reconciliation inevitably falls into the duality of existence. Singularity, whether in the pursuit of nirvana or the impending apocalypse, highlights this mechanism’s fascination with purity.

As we delve into this artistic exploration, we are confronted with resonating questions. How do we respond to our desires? How do we construct dynamic relationships with others? How do we confront the ultimate question of death and purpose? These questions reverberate within the spatial and temporal realms of this performance practice, ultimately leading us back to self-examination and propelling us into the next phase of our experiences.

A Work by Nicolas Tian Cai 

Soundtracked Live by Magnus Westwell 

Performance by Lewis Walker, Courtney Deyn 

Production Antony Waller 

Artwork by Mala York 

Presented by untitlabR