3:AM in Lockdown 32: Joseph Schreiber
The Douglas Fir Trail By Joseph Schreiber. Spring is a strange, slow, sloppy season where I live. As the days grow warmer, the snow covered paths that snake through the dead brown grass of the fields and forest floor begin to soften, turn slushy and muddy. Suspiciously bright yellow patches emerge along the routes […]
Technological Slavery 2.0: Ghosts of Hypernormalization and the Role of Art in a Pandemic
In the middle of a global pandemic, with countries on lockdowns, systems scrambling to operate, forced closures of businesses, factories and warehouses, mass lay-offs and unemployment, things seem strangely ‘normal.’ Many people seem to be either ignoring the event, or are suspicious of the media’s portrayal of it, and do not take the necessary steps to protect themselves. The irony of this is that despite the apparent blas é nature of this reaction, shelves continue to be emptied of the essential items like toilet paper, paper towels, sanitizers, bleach and cleaning products, cans of soup, meat and dairy. Panic buying has taken on a face of nonchalance and dejected familiarity. Panic is, in this sense, entirely hypernormal.
By Tom Pazderka.
3:AM in Lockdown 31: James Miller
The London Mouse By James Miller. When my daughter wakes in the morning and I go to collect her from her cot she says, ‘Not going nursery, no’. It’s a statement, an expression of novelty, but as the days go on, it’s also a question, as if she’s asking, ‘how much longer will this continue?’ […]