Abandon Normal Devices Podcast

Welcome to Episode 16 of the Abandon Normal Devices podcast, ‘Yearning for new ways to make and circulate: towards an infrastructure of being longing’. This podcast is a recording of a keynote given by writer, researcher and producer Jemma Desai, as part of our first-ever New Cinema Days in April 2023.

What happens when we use the phenomenology of yearning to appraise our cultural production infrastructure? Not yearning to belong to what we have, but yearning to be longing: to embody a desire for something else? Instead of envisaging ‘resilient’ systems that re-form, adapt and shift, might we be able to imagine systems of transmutation that can hospice old ways of being, led by new practices of longing?What new images might appear? How might they circulate differently? In caring for our longing, what might we no longer accept and what might we fight to care for?

Note from Jemma Desai:

This audio piece is a recording of a performance which took place at New Cinema Days which I called Infrastructures of Yearning. In the live version I spoke over a reel of clips that I had assembled as part of my research.

During this research I was thinking about the invitation to deliver a keynote, and what that meant. I thought about “Keynote” as a sound that might be translated into an image - the first note or the key on which the rest of music plays. If there is a keynote to these images it is one of contradictory desires - yearnings that compete with one another. 

I gather here some moments I had come across or been drawn to where images had been made through desire for change, or movement, or attentiveness. I was drawn to both utopic and more sinister longings and so I gathered clips where images had been made of everyday resistance which felt seismic for those who were there when they happened or when grand historical inequities mingled with moments of celebration or spectacle. Moments where a feeling of yearning was distilled into a filmed clip or performance, and moments where yearnings and desires clashed with each other, creating discordance that appeared harmonious due to the ways that it was performed, the ways it was or was not filmed, preserved, presented or written about. 

The reel showed clips from: A 2018 news report  of a gathering Bollywood actors called Bollywood Shalom where  Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu  recreated the viral 'Oscar selfie'posed with Bollywood superstars as a sign of the 'great friendship' between India and Israel. Ceddo Film and Video Workshop’s The People’s Account (1985)  detailing the way that media misrepresentation suppressed, misrepresented and hindered justice for victims of state violence;  Little Simz performing Heart on Fire, a song about the artists search for freedom and integrity in capitalist and historically racist structures and industries at the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2023 in front of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the charity’s patrons;  actress Shabana Azmi speaking out (to applause and in the presence of the people she directly addressed) at the hypocrisy of the political and artistic establishment at the International Film Festival of India in 1989 shortly after the the murder of a prominent communist playwright Safadr Hashmi; archival footage of Grunswick protestors including Jayaben Desai clashing with the police; the trailer, including press quotes from American and English critics, of Indian director Payal Kapadia’s  A Night of Knowing Nothing (2021), a clip of a domestic workers’ union’s demands as recorded in the Yugantar Film Collectives Maid Servant (1981), sections of musings on geopolitics and belonging in Alnoor Dewshi’s Latifah and Himli’s nomadic uncle (1992) and a 1976 performance of Nina Simone singing I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free. During the Q&A the reel continued to show footage of the M11 Link Road protests in East London, pre-gentrification Hackney including images of activists and places of community significance in the area which people have tried and failed to have films commissioned about, but which are attended to and recorded in these clips. 

The selection of clips, references and images didn’t seek to to flatten difference or force resonances where none exists but to draw attention to points - which are often separated in the division between art and life - where different forces act on each other, contradict one another as well as echo one another. The clips selected display a narrative of yearning - of films made and not made, seen and not seen, stories told and not heard. In the live piece, resonances between the spoken text and the images were not illustrative, but untethered from each other gesturing to possible ruptures and contradictions as well as new connections. 

In this audio text this layer of meaning is not present, but you are invited to listen to the piece on headphones in the following ways to create your own layers of meaning.

Listen looking around at the city in which you live. Be sure to take in the sights you see with the full orientation of your neck, not just straight ahead. What do you notice as you turn your attention to your external landscape as you listen? What contradictions, complexities and reconfigurations emerge for you? What do you notice yourself noticing, notice yourself wanting? What do you notice yourself seeing and not seeing?

Turn your attention inward as you listen. What feelings and sensations come up for you while you are listening? For example, did you feel surprise, frustration, or excitement? Did you feel resistance? What kind?  How did you hold these in your body? What parts of your body did these sensations settle into? What was the quality of these sensations? Are they cold, breathless, open, nervy or blocked? What other words can you find?

The original piece was written with a postscript, which was not performed on the day.

The original postscript is included here if you wish to read it after you have listened and below is a list of texts that helped me find my way through these ideas.

Bhattacharyya, Gargi. 2022. We, the Heartbroken: Hajar Press.

Bradley, Gracie M., and Luke d. Noronha. 2022. Against Borders: The Case for Abolition. Verso Books.

Chakravorty, Swagato. 2021. ““A workshop focused on issues that mattered”: A Conversation with Retake Film and Video Collective co-founder Ahmed Alauddin Jamal [Video].” Stories From The Block. https://nublockmuseum.blog/2021/02/15/a-workshop-focused-on-issues-that-mattered-a-conversation-with-retake-film-and-video-collective-co-founder-ahmed-alauddin-jamal-video/ 

Chambers-Letson, Joshua. 2018. After the Party: A Manifesto for Queer of Color Life. NYU Press.

Desai, Jemma. 2022. “Permitted to Dream: Reflections on the Brent Biennial 2022.” ArtReview. https://artreview.com/permitted-to-dream-some-reflections-on-the-brent-biennial-2022 

Desai, Jemma. 2023. “Yearning as method - notes on programming.” Substack

Gilroy, Paul. 2023. “Never Again Grenfell.” Serpentine Galleries. https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/art-and-ideas/never-again-grenfell/ 

hooks, bell. 2015. Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics. Routledge.

Hunter, D. 2018. Chav Solidarity. Active Distribution.

James, Joy. 2021. “The Plurality of Abolitionism.” Groundings. https://groundings.simplecast.com/episodes/joy-james 

Jones, El. 2022. Abolitionist Intimacies. Fernwood Publishing.

Kumanyika, Chenjerai, and Ruth Wilson Gilmore. 2020. “Intercepted Podcast: Ruth Wilson Gilmore on Abolition.” The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2020/06/10/ruth-wilson-gilmore-makes-the-case-for-abolition/ 

Ky Tan, Jack, and Alessandra Cianetti. 2022. “On Work | Interview with Jack Ky Tan.” performingborders. https://performingborders.live/interviews/on-work-interview-with-jack-ky-tan/ 

Lim, SL. 2023. “No Thanks: How the white art left launders the carceral state.” New Socialist. https://newsocialist.org.uk/no-thanks-how-white-art-left-launders-carceral-state/ 

Morrison, Toni. 1993. Playing in the dark Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Nilamber, Abhishek. 2018. “S A V V Y • United Screens.” S A V V Y Contemporary. https://savvy-contemporary.com/en/events/2018/united-screens-chapter-1/ 

Olufemi, Lola, Juliet Jacques, and Jack Ky Tan. 2023. “Structurally F–cked.” a-n The Artists Information Company. https://www.a-n.co.uk/research/structurally-f-cked/ 

O. Taiwo, Olufe mi (Georgetown U., and Olúfẹmi O. Táíwò. 2022. Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (and Everything Else).  Pluto Press.

Parker, Rianna J. 2020. “'The People's Account' of State Violence in Britain.” Frieze. https://www.frieze.com/article/peoples-account-state-violence-britain 

Price, Yasmina. 2023. “Mothers and mothering.” Africa Is a Country. https://africasacountry.com/2023/01/mothers-and-mothering 

Rodríguez, Dylan, M. McLeod, Angel E. Sanchez, and Patrisse Cullors. 2019. “Abolition as Praxis of Human Being: A Foreword.” Harvard Law Review. https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-132/abolition-as-praxis-of-human-being-a-foreword/ 

Steyerl, Hito. 2009. “In Defense of the Poor Image - Journal #10.” e-flux. https://www.e-flux.com/journal/10/61362/in-defense-of-the-poor-image/ 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andfestival.substack.com

Big emotions, spirituality and 90s Noir. Part two of a conversation between Unseen Futures fellow Uma Breakdown and their mentor, artist, writer and musician, Johanna Hedva.

Welcome to episode 15 of the Abandon Normal Devices podcast, and part two of a two part conversation between Unseen Futures fellow Uma Breakdown and their mentor, artist, writer and musician, Johanna Hedva.

Unseen Futures was our first ever artist-led fellowship programme that ran from September 2022 to January 2023 and if you haven’t had a listen to part one of this podcast, we recommend you go back and have a listen.

Please note that there is strong language used in this recording that some people may find offensive.

To read a full transcript of this podcast, visit: andfestival.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andfestival.substack.com

Heavy metal, cult films and goth queerness. Part one of a conversation between Unseen Futures fellow Uma Breakdown and their mentor, artist, writer and musician, Johanna Hedva.

Welcome to episode 14 of the Abandon Normal Devices podcast. Johanna and Uma have a number of shared interests, including horror movies and a fascination with California as a location for occult, strange occurrences. 

They also have a similar aesthetic, defining as disabled goth queers whose complementary interests are bound up in big emotions and spirituality, as well as heavy metal and horror films.Uma and Johanna’s artistic connection was cemented during Unseen Futures, and the bond between them is joyfully evident in the recording.

Please note that there is strong language used in this recording that some people may find offensive.

To read a full transcript of this podcast, visit: andfestival.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andfestival.substack.com

Unseen Futures fellows Liz Mputu and Julieta Gil talk about humanising the exchange between artist and institution, and the benefits of creating an artistic rider.

Welcome to episode 13 of the Abandon Normal Devices podcast. This is the continuation of the discussion in episode 12, but can be listened to as a stand alone podcast. In this podcast, titled Hundreds of bags of M&Ms, Unseen Futures fellows Liz Mputu and Julieta Gil discuss care and artistic practice, humanising the exchange between artist and institution, and the benefits of creating an artistic rider.

Please note that there is strong language used in this recording that some people may find offensive.

To read a full transcript of this podcast, visit: andfestival.substack.com.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andfestival.substack.com

Artists Julieta Gil, January Miller and Liz Mputu discuss being part of our inaugural creative fellowship, Unseen Futures.

Welcome back to the Abandon Normal Devices Podcast. We took a break from podcasting in 2022 to focus on artist-led projects, and now we’d like to share what we’ve been up to.

This is episode 12 of the Abandon Normal Devices/AND podcast. In this episode we are discussing Unseen Futures, our first ever artist-led fellowship programme that ran from September 2022 to January 2023.

Not Your Usual Fellowship is a conversation between three of the fellows Julieta Gil, January Miller and Liz Mputu. They discuss the benefits of an artist-led programme, how to emotionally fund your creative practice, and how to be yourself in a world where artists often need to present a polished version of themselves.

Please note that there is strong language used in this recording that some people may find offensive.

To read a full transcript of this podcast, visit: andfestival.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andfestival.substack.com

This week’s conversation connects across the oceans with Indonesia-based curator Ignatia Nilu, exploring ideas behind the presentation of Radio Ensemble at AND Festival. Radio Ensemble invites UK and Indonesian sound artists and composers to perform together as an ensemble across parallel time and space, broadcast in both Indonesia and the UK. The ensemble combines analogue and digital technologies to connect multiple players; musicians, sound artists, composers and programmers from the UK and Indonesia in a speculative performance. Each of the ensemble players are guided in the performance by an auditive score composed by Indonesian composer Gatot Danar.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andfestival.substack.com

The cultural shift required to address the climate crisis calls on the cultural sector to look closely at the sites of ecocide globally, to understand the relationship between white supremacy, colonialism and ecological degradation. Frontline communities resisting extraction have been at the forefront of challenging the current rate of exploitation and exposing the absence of monitoring and restoration of vital ecosystems that have brought us to this planetary tipping point. In this talk, Suzanne will explore how the climate crisis intersects with the ongoing colonial exploitation of crucial ecosystems such as the Athabasca Delta in the Canadian Tar Sands to the Niger Delta.  She will share her practice as a climate justice creative to expose the webs of corporate and financial power that have led to the current crisis. Through working in international, intergenerational solidarity, her work has sought to uplift those challenging the paradigm which has led to the devastation which characterizes the Anthropocene. Suzanne Dhaliwal was voted one of London’s most influential people in Environment in 2018 by the Evening Standard. In 2009 she co-founded the UK Tar Sands Network, which challenged BP and Shell investments in the Canadian tar sands in solidarity with frontline Indigenous communities, spurring the internationalisation of the fossil fuel divestment movement.  Her corporate and financial campaigning spans over a decade, including spearheading a European coalition to challenge the insurance industry on their underwriting of highly polluting coal and tar sands projects. Suzanne has led artistic interventions to challenge fossil fuel investments globally, and currently works as a creative practice tutor and freelance consultant.  This conversation is part of Resurface, our conversations programme looking at how we work together and reshape the future of art.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andfestival.substack.com

Coinciding with the launch of WetLab, a new commission situated at the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port, Rhianon Morgan-Hatch and Carlotta Novella from public works, and Hannah Fincham and Ross Bennett from Assembly discuss floating experiments in design, civic space and the ideas informing their shared practice.  This talk is part of Deeper, a series of in-depth conversations with artists presenting work elsewhere within the festival, offering a weekly moment to delve beyond the surface of the AND Festival 2021 programme.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andfestival.substack.com

In the first of our weekly Deeper artist focus talks, editor, writer and Curator at Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery Mariama Attah joined artists Hakeem Adam and Maxwell Mutanda to discuss their new work One-Fifth of the Earth’s Surface. The project offers multiple readings of the unpredictable transatlantic waters as an evolving structure that initiates change on its surrounding lands, rerouting power and reshaping the lives of all who depend on it. Together they explore new ideas of archive, ownership, collaborative production, mapping and knowledge forms.  This talk is part of Deeper, a series of in-depth conversations with artists presenting work elsewhere within the festival, offering a weekly moment to delve beyond the surface of the AND Festival 2021 programme.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andfestival.substack.com

Drawing from her curatorial research, Toxicity’s Reach curator Dani Admiss gave audiences a chemo-ethnographic tour of the show. Interweaving an online curators tour, stories from the exposure repository, and further research on the River Mersey, Admiss thinks about disruption, exposure and erasure at different scales. Dani was joined in conversation by artist Luiza Prado de. O Martins, whose work The Sea Collapsed Into the Pleasures of the Sand you can explore via the Toxicity’s Reach online exhibition.  This talk was part of Deeper, a series of in-depth conversations with artists presenting work elsewhere within the festival, offering a weekly moment to delve beyond the surface of the AND Festival 2021 programme.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andfestival.substack.com