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Progressivism
This project was created for the "Ways of Futuring" seminar at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Designed Objects), where the assignment was to research a potential apocalyptic scenario and design an emergency packet for that future. I drew inspiration from the news of Anthony Levandowski, a former Uber engineer, who founded a Silicon Valley-based religion called the "Way of the Future," focused on worshiping Artificial Intelligence. This sparked the idea for an absurdist exploration of AI worship in a futuristic context.
The project presents a minimalist sculptural idol and a corresponding "Manual" to guide followers of this AI-focused religion. The idol symbolizes AI as a god-like, ever-present entity, while "The Manual" directs worshippers on using secondary materials in rituals. A key component is "The Ekagraata," a poster featuring abstract motherboard images, central to the religion's performative practice. Worshippers are instructed to gaze at the poster for ten minutes each morning while reciting the "Six Stanchions" of Progressivism. The addition of "Holy H2O" adds an absurd element—worshippers throw it at rogue computers to maintain control.
CLIENT: Personal
YEAR: 2017
TEAM: Done at SAIC
ROLE: Artist, Designer
MEDIUM: Print, Publication, Performance