Sapphira | expanded narrative

Projects:

• Let’s Start Everything with Letters
• Found Her at the Flea Market
• Pilgrimage to the Oracle
• Future Citizens Contact Project [fccp]
• Coordinate Retriever
• Inside the Land of Gray Matter

Introduction:

I see myself as a cyborg artist. I acknowledge my dependence on a massive second brain called the Internet. This new appendage is not biological, but I am. My expanded narrative based on a character named Sapphira, is a public affirmation of my cybernetic situation.

The constant stream of information via the net (my second brain) requires an outlet. This expanded narrative manifests as a process to utilize otherwise extraneous data. In this instance, expanded narrative operates as a second life, powered by the second brain (the net).

My cyborg affirmation sounds futuristic, it feels that way too, so naturally my second world is the same: futuristic, fantastical, surreal, supernatural, paranormal: science fiction. The star of my second world is an avatar named Sapphira, she is a hyperreal version of myself, existing in a parallel universe I am creating and maintaining via the works described below.

The works support the narrative at the character (local) level and/or the world (global) level. In other words, some projects develop the narrative as it relates to the character only (e.g., personality, family history, etc), while others develop details of the world the character lives in (e.g., cultural traditions, government, technology, etc).

Let’s Start Everything with Letters

2012

Instead of traditional brain storming methods, letter writing became a tool for narrative ideation and development. I exchanged letters with two like-minded artists for the duration of one month. I wrote my initial letter with a stream of consciousness approach. The resulting letter was an introduction to my avatar: an elderly (as of 2012) female who many years prior had been commissioned by an unknown agency to hunt for the answer to immortality.

The letters I received in response contain characters, places, events and ideas that are potentials for inclusion in Sapphira’s world. These received letters serve a dual purpose: functioning as both potential narrative devices and collectible artifacts that bring an abstract story into the physical world.

Found Her at the Flea Market

2012

After the initial character and world development via letter writing, a trip to the local flea market provides an endless supply of jumping off points for expanding the narrative. The objects (right) were collected and defined within the context of Sapphira’s personal family history. This process helped construct a more comprehensive character profile, simultaneously these objects triggered ideas for the world (global) level.

Tracking the story created by the hint of these objects is an ongoing process of writing, reorganizing, and remixing my own ideas about the objects’ purpose and place in the narrative. Objects, and ideas about the objects come and go, the narrative is very fluid, I try everything and see what sticks. My world building process is documented in a 3-ring binder (right).

Pilgrimage to the Oracle

2012

A forested area on the North edge of town serves as a playground and stage for narrative development. Far from the main trail, I pieced together a large nest-like structure around a hole in the ground. At the bottom of the hole was a glass marble, beneath the marble a flickering LED. I refer to this intervention as “The Oracle In the Woods”.

On February 21, 2012, I led a group of people to the Oracle and shared an accompanying soundscape. The soundscape and physical structure offer an interactive experience that serves as an entry point for narrative outsiders. This work abstractly introduces ideas regarding the world’s technology, paranormal and supernatural elements.

Click play (below) to hear the soundscape.

Future Citizens Contact Project [fccp]

2012

After the initial character/world creation, the avatar is ready for a human player. I take on this role in an attempt to bridge the real and the virtual, and to play inside of the world I am creating.

Using Sapphira’s photos, diary, and research, I created a free google site as Sapphira. The site included information about the Future Citizens Contact Project [fccp]. FCCP is an attempt to contact future citizens of the world through printed correspondence. It was executed in three parts, 1) Ground Pods, 2) Air Pods, 3) Online Other:

1)Ground Pods: A double sided printed page, with a message in English on one side and in binary code on the other, was rolled up and inserted in a recycled laboratory test tube. The tube was wrapped in plastic and sealed with tape. Thirteen tubes were prepared and distributed to individuals at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK. As of 05/15/2012, five of the tubes have been buried at sites across the country, in CA, LA, NM, and OK.

2)Air Pods: A copy of the message was sealed in a tube, taped to three helium balloons, and set loose in Norman, OK.

3)Online Other: For two weeks I faithfully posted to popular online forums, requesting users to print and bury the message in their town. I always linked back to Sapphira’s free google site. My posts on 4chan.org yielded the best results, with over 100 unique visits to Sapphira’s site in March. As of 05/15/2012, no one has confirmed their participation (burying the message).

Coordinate Retriever

2012 - In progress

Click to see full project page, with video, etc.

The Coordinate Retriever is an interactive, electronic object, positioned on the narrative timeline in the far future, when Sapphira is herself a multiverse portal key. Sapphira uses this device to retrieve portal coordinates for her clients, individuals who wish to traverse the multiverse. First her agent code (*257) is entered on the keypad, a gate opens to reveal a pile of goo, depending on where you touch the goo, one of the five LEDs light up and a random sequence of MIDI notes is played in the headphones, the same numbers used to generate the MIDI notes are then printed with the tape calculator. The numbers printed are coordinates to a multiverse portal. The gate may be closed with a push button and the process repeated. The coordinates are formatted like longitude and latitude. Future applications of this project include mapping and/or traveling to printed coordinates.