Stating the obvious, it’s a minute since I sent anything. Only three days after my last message back in May, Rishi Sunak announced a general election in the UK, an event that most of us expected wouldn’t happen til around October or November. For the rest of May I scrambled to finish both what I could of my final MA submission, as well as an experimental XR experience I was developing with Lidi Fu for a live project led by Meta (which was exhibitied in Seoul in July/August and will be in London in December). I spent June working some of the longest and hardest hours of my life with the graphics team at BBC Scotland to develop live data-fed graphics for the all-night election broadcast in early July, before heading back to London to complete the MA and exhibit my work by the end of the month. I took some time off in August before graduating and exhibiting at the V&A in September, moving back to Glasgow, settling in to a little work, finding a new studio and grappling with what seems to be my new full-time career: funding applications.
It’s November and I’m just back from a couple of weeks in the US. I’ve never really struggled with jet lag but I’ve also not visited anywhere more than +/-4 hours my regular time zone since 2019 and today I woke up at 2pm. I missed my Spanish class, the sun went down almost immediately, and here I am wrapping up some writing to alleviate the irrational guilt.
In truth I never stopped writing over this time, but finding the space to wrap something into a satisfying package has been a struggle. I’ve got some drafts with thoughts on AI photo editing, and a summary of my new research plan, which I’d previously aimed towards the dis/enchantment of technology but instead is looking more like a focus on the impending invisibility of technologies like AI and their retreat into the ubiquitous and/or insidious shadows.
But for now! I’m gathering ideas on the form and function of political discussion. I’m extremely fatigued from a covid-level cold, whilst swimming my way through the withdrawal of a boring stress-induced six-month nicotine dependency, so I hope you’re ready to be the recipient of some prime head-fog shit chat. Let’s go!!