You can now read the transcript of the discussion by clicking here.

Through lexicography we find solidarity in a shared language. Appropriated from diverse sources, we use lexicons to develop mutual understanding and sympathetic methodologies. Methodologies of Survival draws on ‘prepper’(1) terminology’s abundant acronyms that point to an urgency and a need for a recognised, shorthand code system. It is a system that simultaneously reveals and obscures, an exclusive vernacular that reduces vastly complex (yet somehow vague) speculations into nonchalant sequences of letters – TEOTWAWKI(2).

Here we present our lexicon of survival – an outline of the means and methods by which we endeavour, as collective, to survive. The process of defining such a resource is also, by virtue of our very undertaking, another methodology as and of survival; we hope for the development of this lexicon to act as means – and demonstrate method – of survival.
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METHODOLOGIES OF SURVIVAL: A LEXICON

SOS
(Self-Organised Survivalism)
As a collaborative practice, we are not a member of an institution, academic or artistic, though we contribute to discourse spilling from both. We are born of an institution; we are not anti-institution – we have ideas about power, hierarchy and pedagogy, which constitute central motivations in our practice and which filter through, often covertly, in our work. Having made the decision to come together, to work and produce as one unit, we had to organise ourselves. Collaboration is a means that, via a multitude of positions, voices and hands, can make for a richer, cumulative, thorough and more whole reading. Our self organisation is not a political statement, it is a means of perpetuating something we value. It is a survival tactic, and we don’t pretend that this is new.

OAP
(Optimism And Positivity)
Collaboration marks a point of entry into a field of tension with an unwritten outcome. With increased inputs comes increased instability and volatility. But within our collaborative entity we endeavour to allow our difference to thrive, making the most of our individual and collaborative attributes in the creation of a new work. We are not resolutely or defiantly positive – sometimes we struggle. Our optimism is fuelled by our past experience of positive experience; we anticipate enjoyment. Optimism is the means by which we sustain our efforts until we remember why it’s worth it. We seek to preserve and grow the essence at the heart of our collaborative work, which is positivity. In this way survival is not about mere existence – it is about taking pains to facilitate a situation in which something overtly positive might flow. And the belief in the need for a survival of this kind is pure optimism.

ROTS
(Rhythms Of Time Sharing)
Fostering motion and momentum, we work together – plotting, flagging, making. We rove and forage through myriad (re)sources, bringing these to bear in a trialogical, tripartite, networked cluster. With this perpetual motion rolling away and towards, the rhythms of our working patterns undulate in and out of synch – working together when we are apart we cross timezones through technology, connecting disparate geographies – whether SE8 to SE15 or +44 to +1/+43/+65/+57.

Synchronicity is our methodology, where efforts are tripled and ideas pooled – we critique, negotiate, support and share – a mutual understanding of what it is to be together, and what it is to be apart.

MAI
(Momentum And Impetus)
Essence/content/method/direction – these are points of tension that we negotiate as they shift across the plane of practice: foreground to background to somewhere in the middle. The constant shifting builds up momentum and at the meeting points, we come together to progress along a single trajectory according to a precise internal logic. We are not so concerned with being progressive as we are with making progress. There is a wider context of momentum in which we sit, and from which we cannot isolate ourselves. But our objective, our impetus, is not to perfect the outcome of this wave into something remarkable in history. We are excited that we don’t know what the outcome will be – for our work or this time – and we are not afraid that it may be familiar. We expect to be judged by all of this.

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POSTSCRIPT: TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It)

The world is changing and we are in flux. In days of crisis, preparation is paramount – tinned food, bottled water, weapons and batteries. Investment, bullion, private pensions and benefactors – planning and contingency for the WCS.(3)

Instead of initiating the WCS, TEOTWAWKI simply births the unknown and the new, unveiling a whole series of possibilities ahead. Being prepared is a willing anticipation; it is a commitment to the future, a future that in this instance is shared and requires both belief and perseverance. In the same way that ‘apocalypse’ is equal only to ‘change’, implicit in TEOTWAWKI, is a fundamental newness.

Survivalism ensures longevity in the face of adversity. Longevity means (a) survival in practice.

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(1) ‘Prepper’, also ‘survivalist’ – from ‘preparedness’ – one who makes practical preparations for large scale emergencies including environmental disasters, biological warfare, societal breakdown etc.

(2) The End Of The World As We Know It

(3) Worst Case Scenario.

KIOSK trialogical introduction to RoTS:

Free and open to all. Thursday, 26 January, 7.30pm.

Rhythms of Time-Sharing presents: NIGHTWATCH / BONNIE JONES / RAINER GANAHL / JOAO ENUXTO AND ERICA LOVE / THE COLLECT / MATT KALASKY

To view and participate in the #nightwatch2012 Twitter performance, follow the hashtag and check back to the AUX blog where we will be publishing the score.

The event will be streaming LIVE 19:30 EST 26-01-12 / 00:30 GMT 27-01-12 here via KIOSKtv:

Rhythms of Time Sharing’s first live event will take the form of a collaboration between two artist collectives – KIOSK (London) and Vox Populi (Philadelphia). This one-off event will be held at the Vox Populi space in Philadelphia formed of live performances in the gallery and nocturnal performances streamed across the Atlantic from KIOSK’s studio in South East London.

This will be the second installment of KIOSK’s ongoing research project, Rhythms of Time-Sharing (RoTS), which explores the current shift in contemporary art practice toward participatory and performative work. Having initiated the project at the Barbican Centre as part of the OFF MODERN LATE, where we co-wrote and documented a live, written trialogue, we will extend this mode of in-collaboration under the premise that COLLABORATION IS SOCIAL. Drawing on Keller Easterling’s poetic analytic of modulations and forces in geo-political activities, KIOSK will utilise the shifts and cohesions of different spaces and time zones, and posit these against the ascendancy of participation as a utopian model for artistic and theoretical pursuit.

To submit work for consideration, send a CV (2 sides max), a statement of intent (500 words max) and links to website/blog/online portfolio to info@kioskcollective.org. Works that deal with participation, performance and art writing are of particular interest.

DEADLINE: December 16th 2011

About KIOSK
KIOSK is a practice-led research collective born of a combined interest in relational geographies, critical spatial practices, micropolitics and contemporary art practice. KIOSK’s research serves to develop an understanding of the multiplicities and multidisciplinarity within contemporary Visual Culture and explores these through diverse methodologies. KIOSK formed through cross-disciplinary studies at Goldsmiths, University of London in June 2010, and is based in South East London with outposts in Bogota and Berlin. www.kioskcollective.org

About Vox Populi
Founded in 1988, Vox Populi is an artist collective that works to support the challenging and experimental work of under-represented artists with monthly exhibitions, gallery talks, performances, lectures, and related programming. For over 20 years, Vox has played a unique role in the cultural life of Philadelphia by bringing our audience a diverse range of programming and providing a supportive environment in which artists can take risks and gain valuable professional experience. www.voxpopuligallery.org

This is the first experimental step in a series of works we are developing for 2012 – Rhythms of Time-Sharing (RoTS), which aims to explore the current shift in contemporary art practice toward participatory and performative work. Drawing on Keller Easterling’s poetic analytic of modulations and forces in intricate corners of geo-political activity, we will utilise the shifts and cohesions of different spaces and time zones, and posit these against the ascendancy of participation as a utopian model for artistic and theoretical pursuit.

We’ll be working nomadically across the entire Barbican Centre/Estate, so good luck with finding us (tweet us @kioskcollective), but watch this space for the resulting text.

Rennovations
undertaken
to the rhythms
of time-
sharing.

Go here to see a digital version of figure head. Certainly try and get hold of a physical copy as there are only 300 in the world and they’re very nice to look at, courtesy of Lucy A. Sames for the design work and Tom from rollingsea for beautiful printing.

f i g u r e   h e a d

Featuring new work by Lucy E. Britton, Renee Carmichael, Susannah E. Haslam, Martha McGuinn, Samuel Mead, Chris Meredith and Lucy A. Sames.

f i g u r e   h e a d  is a small volume of short-form writing.

Keep your eyes peeled for  f i g u r e   h e a d  available across venues participating in the festival and for any further information email us info@kioskcollective.org, or click here.

Our friends at Flee Immediately! have recently launched issue 0 of their beautiful, self-titled publication. We are truly excited to have been involved and part of a written collaboration with Renee for their inaugural work. Our submission was ‘Of my father a maritime technocrat / Lamenting the ship’ to which Renee wrote a response, ‘Mapping of the ship’s lament / Clear as Mud, or ironically not.’

You can go here to see what Flee Immediately! is about and pick up issue 0, also to find out about future projects, publications and collaborations.