'I AM A POSTHUMAN'

I Am A Posthuman Gouache and watercolour on paper 42 x 30 cm 2016

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Code 

The code above appears in my new painting I Am A Posthuman. It actually 'forms', or maybe 'performs', or otherwise 'instructs' a structural element to the 'figure'. You can guess the translation for sure!

But, is this figure me? Maybe? It could also be a posthuman entity from a far distant future expressing itself through me? That's probably a bit far fetched, but worth considering, even if only playfully. However, if we are simulations run by posthuman entities, as per Prof Nick Bostrom's theory, then maybe not such a playful idea! It depends if you believe that the posthuman is something that will occur in the far distant future or whether you think we are already posthuman as a result of various things including drugs, technological devices such as pace makers, glasses, hearing aids and other health oriented devices. Then there are the augmentation or enhancement devices such as [again] drugs, wearable monitoring devices, certain sports gear, cosmetic surgery, developments in AI assisted activities and more.

Extinction

Yet, are these various devices making us posthuman or is it more correct to describe them as part of a transhuman process? The prefix 'post' means after and whilst we humans may have changed over the centuries, unless we are all simulations, I think the 'posthuman' tagline is somewhat premature. Having said that, though, some of our activities may precipitate a human extinction event that does flip the whole idea of the human into the posthuman [ie: no human!] potentially rather quickly. Whilst the chance of such event/s occurring are considered to be very small, the outcomes are considered potentially irredeemable. This kind of risk concern has seen the formation of various research centres that examine existential risk posed by emerging technologies Future of Humanity Institute [Oxford], Center of the Study of Existential Risk [Cambridge], Future of Life Institute [US - out of MIT].

Being Human

If using technology that enhances and augments somehow makes us posthuman then have we been posthuman since our early ancestors picked up rocks and stones to make tools? One could argue that any kind of implement is a technology that enhances chances of survival and progress. Or, maybe just thinking differently about ourselves flips us from human to posthuman? But, history is a complex trajectory of many instances where cultural, political and social changes have triggered new ways of thinking about being human. Examples are feminism, Indigenous rights, post-colonial theories, democracy, science and more! I would argue that these processes are actually what makes us human...just like the cognitive impulses that saw our stone-age ancestors pick up rocks and stones to use as implements.

But, returning to existential risk posed by emerging technologies - the fact that multidisciplinary research in this area is taken very seriously should cause people to take notice. A literal post-human time may occur before we are ready to ensure some kind of human survival! 

I Am A Posthuman

Like some of my other recent 'posthuman' paintings this posthuman figure is formed with a combination of 'codes' ie: binary code and the tree-of-life. The figure seems to float in outer space. There is no horizon line nor indication of precise environment. Is this posthuman simply an entity embedded in a computer or is it a speck of stardust or is it at 'home' in outer space? Or, maybe its 'environment' is my imagination?

Recent other posthuman posts and paintings

MY POSTHUMANS ARE DANCING

A HUMAN'S HOUSE and a POSTHUMAN'S HOUSE

IMAGINING THE POSTHUMAN

MY FUTURE POSTHUMAN

GALAXY STRIP

Galaxy Strip Gouache an watercolour on paper 42 c 30 cm

AERIAL SURVEILLANCE

I've been reading a lot about surveillance lately...especially about UAVs [unmanned Air Vehicles] otherwise known as drones.  French philosopher, Gregoire Chamayou writes about many aspects of militarised drones as surveillance and/or weaponised vehicles in his book Drone Theory. Fascinating and terrifying in many ways. 

The aerial view, though, is not new to me. I have for many years painted as I am the one flying above the ground. I've written about it before too - here is a sample of previous postings SUPER HEROES, MY LANDSCAPE AND SPAGETTIFICATION , FALLING OUT INTO IT.

TEENAGE URBAN DESIGN

Also, as a child and teenager I loved planning towns and suburbs as if I was the creator from above! Here's an example below of one of my teenage suburbs. 

Suburban design around late 70s.

The idea of technology infiltrating all aspects of our lives is an exponentially growing phenomena. Penetrating our private lives from a 'distance' that we do not understand is going on 24 hours a day. Yet, the images we see of Earth from space make us awe struck with the beauty of a perspective not readily available, unless you are an astronaut. There is nothing perplexing about this, unless you are an alien...perhaps! So, some kinds of surveillance provide pleasure and awe, whereas other kinds remain insidious and troubling. 

GALAXY STRIP

My new painting at the top Galaxy Strip combines a few of my interests and inspirations. Firstly creating this 'suburb' took me back to my teenage years when I wondered about the families who might live in the houses I designed. Secondly, though, as I painted this image I was hovering in my minds' eye much further afar than when I was a teenager. I was wondering about 'viewing' the galaxy as a series of habitats. So, whilst the strip of what looks like urban development might exist between vegetation zones, it might also be a metaphor placed against vast distance...the Universe. The strip of buildings or habitats seems to float above the background as if you could fly not only between and in front of things but behind them too. Yes, in my imagination I had gone way beyond Google Earth. 

Galaxy Strip  could be an artificial habitat created in outer space as an environment for humanity post-Earth? Indeed maybe a Dyson Sphere? It could be metaphoric galaxy? Or, it could be a suburb of Canberra, Australia's capital city - a city purposely designed, with green strips, lakes and more. 

DOWNWARD GAZE

I propose that aerial views in the 21st century take on a provocative energy that questions how far surveillance can go and how we might react to this. The downward gaze is repeated across the world as people gaze down to their phones, computers and iPads. As we gaze down, the surveillance from 'above' harvests our actions online, through GPS, imagery and more. Do we or can we notice? I wonder about this constant downward gaze! At worst it's akin to digging or wishing to dig an abyss - at best it's akin to navel gazing! 

What happens to a our ability to see multi dimensional perspectives where horizontal and upward gazes exercises our vision - literally and our minds - metaphorically?

Regular readers will recognise my interests in perspective, desires to un-tether landscape from Earth-bound horizons, cosmic possibilities, even the posthuman...and more.

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com 

RUNOFF

Runoff Gouache and watercolour on paper 30 x 42 cm 2016

My last post was called PLAYING WITH AUSTRALIA . In that post I uploaded two recent AUSTRALIA paintings - and - here's another new one for you. I have been working with gouache and watercolour on paper for a few months and thoroughly enjoying it too. However, for every painting I upload, there's a few that have been ripped up or painted over. The process of painting is an ebb and flow, of feeling that a work is successful - not successful - successful - not successful and so on. 

RUNOFF

I have painted Australia as a series of colourful ribbon-like lines. The contours of the Australian continent seem to leak into what could be an ocean of water or an 'ocean' of space or an 'ocean' of metaphors claiming our imaginations. When I painted this image I was thinking of many things: our environment, current national and world politics, our national identity, globalisation, influence, brain drains, the environment, the future and more. 

FLOODS

I was inspired by some old photographs from my youth. These photos recorded a very serious flood that occurred in early 1981. The flood waters ripped gully-like contours into the deep black soil paddocks in and surrounding my parent's farm. Whilst it had rained heavily in our local area, it had also rained very heavily in the nearby Bunya Mountains. The runoff had traveled many kilometres onto the black soil Pirrnuan Plain where my parent's farm was situated. The erosion caused by the massive water runoff continues to scar the landscape. The photos below show you the extent of the water coverage. 

Pirrinuan Plain, Queensland, Australia Flood 1981

Pirrinuan Plain, Queensland, Australia Flood 1981

So, literal floodwater runoff got me thinking about currency - not only literal water currents, but also political currency, financial currency, contemporaneous-ness. What happens when things get out of control? When does political 'runoff' cause 'erosion' of confidence? Where does economic 'runoff' cause an 'erosion' of sustainability? There are questions about industrial and technological development and the 'runoffs' that erode environmental sustainability. What kinds of scars are our activities of the 20th and 21st century leaving for future generations?

Yet, water runoff as it travels to the lowest point can also replenish underground aquifers, dams, lakes and other water storages. In these cases abundance is not wasted, as the water is stored for future use. Thinking about this got me contemplating about how we might 'store' economic wealth in ways that ensure sustainability and equitable distribution to support social infrastructures. This is at the same time as allowing people to pursue their dreams.

How can we maintain political systems that provide a store of integrity that generates confidence? Are there ways to rebuild and then store, and therefore re-store, environmental safeguards eg: water, soil, air, flora and fauna?

RE-STORING LAND
I have a some experience with re-storing land. When I lived in Goondiwindi, further west than my childhood home, I was lucky enough to build two big beautiful  gardens. Both gardens were situated on a block out of town, beside a creek. However, the land had previously been overstocked, it had been eroded, and the only plants that seemed to thrive were prickly ones.

I had the land deep ripped. This is a process of digging deeply into the soil with a deep ripping machine towed behind a tractor. It allows air flow and water absorption, plus penetration of nutrients into the soil. I introduced nutrients by digging in rotten hay and cotton trash [leftover from the cotton gin]. I had large mounds of soil formed in big garden beds, and into these I planted hundreds of small tubular plants: eucalyptus, sheoaks and other native bushes and trees. They grew quickly as their roots were able to spread out and grow into the newly mounded and ripped soil. As time went by, the trees self-mulched the soil with their dropped leaves and I was able to plant smaller bushes and ground covers. Worms even reappeared! And, the prickly plants were largely eradicated.

Yes, we had floods in Goondiwindi too. Once my gardens and the remaining paddocks were deep ripped, and grasses and other foliage were restored, the flood waters did not strip the land, causing further erosion. Instead the water penetrated the soil and re-established sub-soil moisture profiles ie: stored water for the future! The runoff was collected...

Me starting one of the Goondiwindi gardens. The soil had already been deep ripped. 

So...I've written quite a bit - but I hope it helps you see how an artist draws upon a range of influences, experiences and thoughts. Runoff is a painting that proposes neither good nor bad outcomes, but I think it certainly triggers questions.

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

PLAYING WITH AUSTRALIA

Dissolving Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 

LANDSCAPE

These two paintings are a continuation of my interest in playing with ideas of landscape and the Australian continent. You can see more of my Australian paintings in a recent post called AUSTRALIA - ONLINE EXHIBITION and another post called AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE CUTOUT

PLAY

These two new works on paper 'play' with Australia - its sustainability - its identity - its contours - its relationship with landscape elements both on Earth and perhaps cosmically? You might think of other ways the paintings 'play' with Australia, linking them to a range of geographic, political and social events and ideas! I know I can think of a few tangents that are not initially apparent, but upon reflection make me giggle, frown, despair, be hopeful!

Australia Turned Upside Down Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 

FEDERAL ELECTION 2016

Here in Australia we are on countdown for the next federal election on July 2. I am not looking forward to escalating pre-election sound bites that lure, repulse, ridicule, promise all kinds of offerings to electors. The news is saturated with stories, responses, predictions and more... all supposedly to help inform us. BUT, it becomes exhausting. 

This forthcoming election is a double dissolution one too ie: both houses of parliament, including the full senate are to be elected. You can read about it HERE  It has only happened 6 times since the the formation of the Australian parliament over 110 years ago. Yes, it's disruptive. Time will tell if the disruption is helpful or not. Can you 'see' how both new paintings can be 'read' as political? 

Dissolving and Australia Turned Upside Down are provocative titles.............................

CANBERRA

In the meantime, I have just returned from a few days in Canberra, Australia's capitol city and our federal political centre. I steered away from the newspapers with coverage of the recent budget and forthcoming election- instead I visited the National Gallery, a couple of wineries, Mt Stromlo observatory, Beaver Galleries and lots more. I had a great time. 

Me at Long Rail Gully Wines - outside Canberra

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

A HUMAN'S HOUSE AND A POSTHUMAN'S HOUSE

A Human's House and A Posthuman's House Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 12016

I am still 'playing' with ideas of the posthuman! This latest painting plays with concepts of 'house' and 'home'. In September last year I wrote a blog post called HOME where I wrote about various kinds of homes, ranging from houses to planets. I wrote about why people might flee homes, mass exodus and concepts of new homes. But, in keeping with my current interest in the posthuman, as a place or an entity or both, I wondered what a posthuman house would be like. 

THE POSTHUMAN

So...the posthuman's 'house' might be THE POSTHUMAN ie: the presence, time and place combined...no separation. Why? Well...can you imagine a posthuman, like a downloaded mind, 'returning home' to a place? Wouldn't it already be 'home', embedded within its algorithmic 'instruction'? However, if a posthuman entity, such as a completely synthetic 'embodied' artificial intelligence, needed shelter then maybe it would like to have a 'house' as a home? But, maybe its 'body' could be the house? I mean, it's not like it would get cold or hot, wet or tired. However, if it needs to protect itself from radiation or other contaminants, then maybe a 'house' would be necessary?

POST-EARTH

If the Posthuman is a place, time or entity in the far distant future it might not involve Earth at all. It could be post-Earth as well as post-human. The sun's eventual demise means that a post-Earth situation will occur in billios of years time due to the solar system's demise along with the sun.  Humanity's chance to return to star dust? Yes!  Because our remains will be scattered along with Earth across space and the universe. 

So, if there was no alternative being/entity that could be classed as a posthuman, then maybe the posthuman is actually a time when we humans return to the stars? 

A Human's House and A Posthuman's House

In this new painting I have had fun with two houses - one is a human's house and the other is a posthuman's house. Yep...that's right!

The human house is a typical construction that anyone would identify as a house. The posthuman house is 'built' with four layers of binary code 'instructing' ...'House'. The pathway leading up the posthuman house is lined with zeros and ones, whereas the human house has a pathway of steps. The posthuman house's roof is a caret symbol indicating a space, whereas the human house's roof is attached to the building. Entering the posthuman house seems impossible, whereas entry to the human house seems possible, even welcoming.

TREE-OF-LIFE

The human house has a tree! Yes, it could be any old garden variety tree, but to me it is my much loved trans-cultural/religious tree-of-life. As regular readers know the tree-of-life visually and conceptually ties my work together...in an exploration of life past, current and into the future. It acts as a beacon across time and space, especially in my cosmic inspired paintings. I class A Human's House and A Posthuman's House as being cosmic. Thus, it is one of my 'cosmic landscapes', with an 'urban' theme!

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com 

MY POSTHUMANS ARE DANCING, BUT DO THEY HAVE HEARTS?

My Posthumans Are Dancing, But Do They Have Hearts? Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

MY POSTHUMAN TRIBE

I am still fascinated by posthumans. In fact I've painted a tribe of them over the last months! And, here are two more. These two are dancing. Why? Well, when thinking about the posthuman ie: a place and/or an entity from the far distant future, when humans no longer exist, I wonder about all sorts of things. Some say we are already posthuman, but I think that idea is driven by identity questions and issues, rather than existence ones. 

DANCING

So, why are my new posthumans dancing? And, why do I ask if they have hearts? If a posthuman entity was some kind of downloaded mind, would it have a facility to 'know' what dancing is or is like? Would it have a sensation of movement? Would it appreciate the dynamism of dancing with someone else? Would it improvise? Would it tire or know what a tired sensation is like? Would it be aware of spectators? Would spectators marvel at the dancer's strength and grace?

HEARTS?

So, to the question about hearts. I love to dance. My daughter loves to dance. We both feel it in our bodies and our hearts, although I apparently dance in a very old fashioned way! Our hearts pump faster for sure, but the joy and vibrancy of dancing is not just about physical movement. It involves a connection to music, to others, to imagination. It connects you to the rhythms of the earth...hey the whole universe! Could a posthuman downloaded mind or a completely synthetic being experience these things?  Could it say " I love to dance or I love dancing"?

I've tried to imagine posthumans dancing. My two, in this new painting, look like they are dancing. Their tree-of-life limbs seem hopeful but the binary code running down their 'bodies' - 00111111 instructs a ? - this question mark/code poses lots of questions about form, embodiment, structure, reality, the future and it also 'asks', due to its positioning, "Where is the heart?". But, it's not just asking about a literal heart is it?

"Where is the heart?" could be a good question to ask even now. As previously mentioned, some people think we are already posthuman...maybe it's because when we question the human identity we are really questioning where our hearts are?

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

P.S. Scroll through my other recent posts and you will find more of my posthumans! 

IMAGINING THE POSTHUMAN

 Imagining The Posthuman Gouache on paper 42 x 30 cm 2016

Yes! Another posthuman painting for you. But in this case the posthuman could be a posthuman entity/being or the posthuman era or the posthuman place. Imagining The Posthuman, as a title, could be 'read' a few ways. I quite like that, because whilst people think about posthumanism, I do not think we are already posthuman. We maybe transhuman, to varying degrees...pacemakers, hearing aids, drug enhancements, plastic surgery and so on...BUT

I wonder if we know enough about human capabilities. What if we become fully transhuman with machine, bio-tech and artificial intelligence 'enhancements' before we understand why some people know when a loved one has died, or that someone is about to ring, or even how an artist creates a painting from imagination. What if we ignore these things and then they are forgotten, no longer experienced. What if these human attributes hold keys to even more impressive outcomes than merging with machines?

There are a lot of questions to be asked!

Imagining The Posthuman
This new painting is similar to some other recent posthuman paintings. I did say I was having fun, didn't I!? This painting is less defined yet still includes my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life. Unlike previous paintings this one has only one string of binary code 00111111 to form the backbone or trunk...or is it suggestive of a map, or maybe stepping stones? 00111111 is code for ?

Even though the painting has a figurative quality, it also has a sense of landscape, and I suggest it is also futuristic. So, it could be a posthuman entity ie: not human but some kind of presence? Or, it could represent the posthuman habitat which may not be tangible or material but rather systemic? Or it could represent a time in a far distant future thousands of years after humanity became extinct? Maybe it is all three entwined?

BUT

For the time being, we are still human. Phew! We may be flawed, in varying degrees, but let's make sure we give ourselves, and future generations, the time to develop in ways where reflection, critique, research, understanding and compassion drive our energies, rather than fear and haste.

My painting Keep Us Human has the word 'Human' painted repeatedly around an orange/red circle. I imagine this circle to be the 21st century and the emanating lines the various choices of futures humanity might have.

                                Keeping Us Human Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 2016

My Future Posthuman? 
Is This A Posthuman?
Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

MY FUTURE POSTHUMAN

My Future Posthuman Gouache and watercolour on paper 42 x 30 cm 2016

Regular readers will have noticed that I am having fun with the posthuman!

In my mind the posthuman is something that may happen in the future, the far distant future. I don't believe we are already posthuman. However, some people do. They believe that due to technology's mediation of minds and bodies we are no longer human and therefore we are posthuman. 

Maybe we are transhuman? Some think the process of becoming posthuman is an evolutionary one and that becoming transhuman is a stage through which evolution must pass. There are arguments that treatments and/or enhancements such as mind altering drugs, prosthetics and implants represent transhumanist change or alteration. Contemporary transhumanists such as Zoltan Istvan, Aubrey de Grey and Nick Bostrom suggest that humanity is compromised by its biology. They propose that technological intervention could 'cure' biological vulnerabilities that cause aging, death and sickness. There's political agency in this proposition! Indeed, Zoltan Istvan is a current US presidential candidate for the Transhumanist Party These types of transhumanists see technological intervention and alteration of the human as enhancing the human experience. Whereas, other transhumanists [or those who think about transhumanism] particularly from the arts/humanities see transhumanism as a way to re-create or re-invent the self.  

But, let's get back to the posthuman. 

I think the major difference between the transhuman and the posthuman is that the former is more about enhancing the human, but the latter is more about replacing the human. I enjoy thinking about what a posthuman might be like and what kind of 'existence' a posthuman might experience. So, I imagine an era where no humans remain, due to extinction caused be either our own hands or natural means, such as the sun's tumultuous demise. In the place of humans are machines that appear to have garnered the ability to mimic human modes of being. However, these modes are greatly augmented - so much so that abilities far exceed human ones - to the point where human-ness is almost indiscernible. These machines 'exist' on a far away exo-planet, having escaped Earth - or maybe humans sent them off to investigate alternative planetary homes, but not in time to actually save humanity? 

BUT, maybe there are no tangible presences? Instead only an awareness of downloaded minds, harvested from humans, even those stored in cryogenic facilities for centuries. These downloaded minds trip around the universe on light beams aided by algorithms that replicate and continually enhance. 

My Future Posthuman

In my new painting above I imagined me [or my mind] as a posthuman. But, I also decided that I could paint an imaginary friend, my posthuman imaginary friend. Indeed, perhaps I've unwittingly painted the posthuman being who is operating me as a simulation? Yep, you read right! This idea stems from Nick Bostrom's simulation argument. Please read Are You Living In A Computer Simulation?   This certainly turns the whole idea of the posthuman upside down, because Bostrom suggests that if we are living in a computer simulation, it is being run by posthumans. Does that mean we are already posthuman, even if we are only simulated? 

So - in My Future Posthuman I've painted a figure with tree-like appendages, a multicoloured heart and a head shaped like a question mark - but the question mark is formed from two rows of binary code 'instructing' the word 'Human'. Hence, the question mark! I love the tree-like wings that spring from the figure's shoulders. They and the tree-like appendages connect the figure to the outer reaches of the universe, of time and space. Regular readers will identify the trees as my visual re-interpretation of the age/old transcultural/religious tree-of-life symbol. I don't think this symbol's potency has been exhausted. That's why I gain a contrary enjoyment in juxtapositioning it with binary code. Both 'codes' have instructional qualities, although they may suggest alternative paths, which may or may not cross. 

Worth looking into though!

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com 

PROACTIONARY AND PRECAUTIONARY

 Line drawing  pen and ink 1974 

1974 - 1976

In 1974 - 76 when I was in my mid teens I drew these two drawings. I can remember drawing them. The bottom one even ended up being framed. So, someone decided it was a good work and warranted special treatment.

The top drawing was inspired by a sideboard my parents had in the dining room of the house I grew up in. An old lamp was placed on top of it. I've embellished the arrangement of items with additional vases and a 'garden' of small branches and flowers. 

The drawing below is from my imagination. Yet, the practice of drawing from nature and my immediate environment is evident. I used to do a lot of drawing of things I saw. The stylised trees or branches are not dissimilar to those in the drawing above. The juxtapositoning of these organic forms with geometric ones is something I used to love to do. It was great to play with patterns  - working out how various elements best 'fit' together as I proceeded with the drawing process. 

ERROR

Yes, there was some trial and error. I cannot tell you where the errors were made, but I know they were - and I covered them up or changed tack to turn them into parts of the pattern. Yet, I was also thinking ahead about how I might fit the image into the size of paper, how I might render the outer edges to create some kind of visual framing and so on. 

PROACTIONARY - PRECAUTIONARY

Drawing, and painting too, are processes where both proactionary and precautionary principles work in tandem. Proactionary means trial and error, learning as you go, solving problems as they appear and welcoming the accident as an opportunity. Precautionary means firstly, ascertaining risk factors and secondly, working out ways to avoid and mitigate these risks.  Actions like making sure you have enough space to draw where nothing can be knocked over to spill on the paper is a precautionary action. The artist works out what risks are not worth taking. But, events like ink pooling in a glob at the end of your nib just as you touch the paper creates instances where error can be turned into something positive, thus an example of proactionary principles. A glob of ink can be  manipulated to create a darkened section of the drawing, a shadow, or anything else that 'speaks' to the image. By embracing 'errors' I have found that changes of tack or approach produce unexpected, but often fantastic outcomes. Problem solving, amongst many other processes, is very much part of creativity. Yet, I would suggest that there is something about the tension between proactionary and precautionary concerns that heightens creative impulses, like a push me/pull you energy.

   

ACCIDENT

I still love drawing. I love the immediacy of making a mark. But, I also love the trepidation I feel when my hand might wobble, when I can see ink dripping towards the nib, when I notice an insect fly into a wet mark, when I accidently pick up the wrong pen or brush and make a mark before realising...there's a myriad of things that could be classed as errors! 

In fact, as regular readers know I deliberately introduce accidents, especially when I paint. I let the paint drip, pool and coalesce. I may let it dry completely before applying more paint. Or, I might throw more turps onto the canvas, or partially wipe away some paint. I watch what happens as the paint does its own thing. I make decisions about when to intervene. All of this scrutiny and action takes place in the immediate environment of my studio, within the attention of my sensibilities, over a period of time that I can measure, predict and manage. 

I can intervene...and I don't need to have the power on or the batteries charged!

Line drawing pen and ink 1974 - 76

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

TWO PAINTINGS OF MY DAD

Dad Acrylic on canvas 51 x 41 cm late 70s. 

TECHNOLOGY

I've previously mentioned that my Dad, while a farmer [grain grower], was also a HAM amateur radio enthusiast. His passion started at the age of 12, and was life-long. Over time his interests extended into computers, and other contemporary digital and electronic technologies. 

I have often written about how the technology Dad introduced into our everyday lives has influenced my life well beyond childhood; how I grew up in the 60s and 70s with gadgets and gizmos, made my first crystal set at about age 12, and how I was given movie cameras when Dad bought newer versions. I've previously described how our vehicles [cars, trucks] carried some kind of communication device. I have also mentioned that our family often heard world news before it appeared in mainstream news outlets. This was long before the Internet. I have also written about how the flat horizon of my parent's farm was punctured by Dad's tall aerials [photo below]. Before I was born, Dad, aged only 20, was one of the HAMs conscripted by the US Jet Propulsion Unit  to track Sputnik 1 [1957]. Indeed HAMs in the US were the first to detect and monitor the satellite's signal. Dad made our first TV on the dining room table in the early 60s. AND, then there were the record players and other gadgets he made, bought, modified and installed. 

JOHN WILLIAM BRIMBLECOMBE 1937 - 2016

Well, an era has come to an end. My Dad died at home in his sleep last week. He went to bed and simply did not wake up. He still had work on his HAM shack bench [bottom photo]. After spending over half his life lurching from one medical crisis to another his death came peacefully. 

Various aerials that My Dad used to send and receive. His HAM shack is the small white building. 

This is at the farm at Pirrinuan outside Dalby, Queensland, Australia.

MY PAINTINGS OF DAD

I painted the two paintings [top and below] here in this post when I was about 16-18 years old. They are of my Dad, sitting. I talked about them at the private family funeral we held for him.

Dad had his favourite places to sit - in the lounge watching the news, on his HAM shack stool or in his office at one of his computers. Indeed, as these paintings illustrate [by virtue of their age] even back on the farm Dad's favourite places to sit were the lounge - to watch the news, read a book or eat a meal. Or, he'd be in his HAM shack. Yes, he also farmed, but when that was done, he was back in his shack! Keep in mind too, that farming also involved sitting on a tractor, in a truck or in a harvester. Once tractors and harvesters were built with cabins, air conditioning etc Dad installed communication equipment in them too. This is way before mobile phones! After retirement in the mid 80s and the arrival of the PC [and later the laptop], Dad added the office to his favoured sites to sit for long periods of time.  

Figure in a Chair - Dad Acrylic on canvas 142 x 99 mid 70s, 

ABSTRACTED 
Both of my paintings are abstracts...or abstracted. I look at them now [I've had them stored for years] and realise that while they do not literally look like Dad, they convey a lot about his character. He was a man of parts ie: interests, moods, passions, that were often difficult to match together or understand. He was well-read [particularly Australian history or war history]. He loved classical and jazz music, but would never want to go to a concert or performance, preferring to listen to his high quality recordings on devices he'd either made or modified, to amplify and improve the sound. He liked being alone and shied away from social events, especially where there were largish groups of people. He simply preferred spending time operating and making technology, reading, tinkering with machinery, restoring things etc. As a man of technology and science, his interests extended to the way he farmed. He responded very quickly to advances in farming methods and technologies, and in retirement kept a close interest in agricultural matters.

NEW PERSPECTIVES
When I look at the top painting Dad I now see it also as an aerial view over farmland. Or, as my Mum has suggested, an overview of a house and outbuildings. And, as one of my nephews pointed out at the funeral, it also has a computer-like or circuitry-board appearance [see photo below for comparison]. Thus, with hindsight I realise that as a teenager I picked up on something that could not be explained with words or even 'seen' at the time - and I'd like to point out - it was manifested with paint and brushes, not a camera or other device!

During my childhood, shared with my two younger brothers, art and cultural activities were actively encouraged by our Mum, who continues to paint and write. I believe that my lifelong exposure to technology, and the characters associated with it, coupled with my Mother's creative influences, has provided me with a unique balance, and a depth of understanding that still manifests in images created through the freedom that painting enables. I've often experienced insights about my paintings many years after completing them and these two paintings provide further examples of how potent, informative, even prophetic, and timeless a painting can be. 

                                                           My Dad's Ham shack bench 

                                                    VK4ZWB signed off 9th March 2016

Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

IS THIS A POSTHUMAN?

Is this a Posthuman? Gouache and watercolour on paper 42 x 30 cm 2016

Like my previous post and painting Vascular System for Posthumans? this new painting is inspired by the reading I am undertaking for my university higher degree research studies. These studies are not focused on posthumanism, but they certainly intersect with the possibility of posthuman futures. 

QUESTIONS

So, let's ask some questions. Will we humans become posthuman by some kind of augmentation or will we assist in the creation of posthuman entities, like we create cars, ships, needles and coffee cups? If it is the latter will these entities be 'inscribed' with access to descriptions of humanity's mode of being in order to ensure some kind of 'human' future history? Is the term posthuman actually a helpful one? If there is no 'human' component, except the possibility of the entity being able to access programmed descriptions of being human, maybe it is a bit misleading? I mean, when we humans access information about stones, stars, history in the library or online [or wherever] we don't 'become' the stone, the star nor the history. So, if a posthuman has no human-ness maybe the 'human' part of 'posthuman' lulls us into thinking we humans actually have a future. Even if the term was 'posthumanlife' or 'postlife' maybe we'd think differently about how we negotiate the prospect of posthuman futures? 

However, if we are augmented and enhanced in ways that retain some kind of human-ness, even if it is only our own individual memories which include our cultural, environmental, historical and familial connections, then the 'human' with the prefix 'post' is possibly more appropriate. This kind of downloading could be input into an 'embodied' being or be entered into a non-bodied system. Do we need a body to be 'human' or retain human-ness? If the entity is an embodied one and has some retention of human-ness what physical attributes could be retained...fingernails? But, maybe we can develop ways to develop extremophile capacities that enable us to retain bodies of organic matter, but super-charged and enhanced organic matter? The other alternative is that there are no 'bodies' just downloaded minds. So if we download human minds and there is no body for the mind to be embedded into, then it is fascinating to think that being human in the so-called posthuman future could be just about mind. 

It is such fun thinking about various posthuman scenarios. I suggest that posthuman or posthumanlife modes of being are inevitable. When you think about it, even if we are completely annihilated it's axiomatic that it would trigger the posthuman. After all, the 'post' prefix does not mean that something has to replace the human. There might be just nothing, no intelligent beings. The thing that humans find sad, maddening, depressing is that without an intelligent consciousness the nothingness could not be observed. 

Is this a Posthuman?

As with Vascular System for Posthumans? I have painted an x-ray-like or scanned 'body'. The 'head' is a tree...yes my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life. The tree signifies a few things about life, repeating patterns, possibility. The tree is also represented in the leg-like appendages, taking on a root-like appearance. The trees, to me, seem to signify a process of transformation. However, exactly what kind of transformation is not necessarily apparent. It could be a transformation into a merged human and machine, which is represented by the binary code 'instructing' the word Human. Or, the tree could represent a 'good bye' to humans...a signal that humanity's time to return to the stars as star dust is near. This would mean that a posthuman future is one where there is nothing intelligent or conscious left. Although...there is the tantalising possibility of intelligent aliens who may, for one reason or another, detect that some kind of other intelligent entity once existed.

Looking at the painting, I am very happy with how the 'posthuman's' heart also takes on a kind of head-like appearance. Heart/head/mind connections are important ones to think about. No more so than NOW. By asking questions and thinking about human futures, we may be able to ensure that whatever future occurs, it is the best of many possible outcomes.

Other recent Posthuman Paintings

Posthuman Modes of Being 

Posthuman 'Habitat'

Two Humans - Uploaded 

Picturing the Posthuman

RADIO INTERVIEW

I was interviewed on Radio Adelaide a day after speaking on a four person panel 'Space and Popular Culture'. The event was hosted by the Southern hemisphere Space Studies program, run by the International Space University [Strasbourge] and teh University of South Australia.  You can listen to it HERE

The interview is called The Creative Cosmos: An Interview With Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com 

VASCULAR SYSTEM FOR POSTHUMANS?

Vascular System for Posthumans? Gouache and watercolour on paper 42 x 30 cm 2016

THE POSTHUMAN

I've been thinking about posthumans and posthuman futures. Regular readers of this BLOG will have noticed my interest!

I recently read Founder and Director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, Prof Nick Bostrom's paper I Want To Be A Posthuman When I Grow Up . He makes some convincing arguments about why it would be in humanity's best interest to welcome posthuman modes of being. Yes, very logical arguments pertaining to healthspan, cognition and emotion. Is logic a way to live though? We'd [whatever 'we' means] live longer and never get sick...cures for aging and sickness! We'd have enhanced ability to think, learn, deduce, create and appreciate. Plus, the posthuman would experience emotionally stable states of happiness and well-being, healthy relationships with self and others. 

All sounds pretty terrific [no not really!]. BUT...

Envisioning the end game ie: posthuman beings of exemplary capacities is one thing, but how do we get there? The 'road' is a long and curly one! What if there are occurrences that render the best possible posthuman mode of being impossible, compromised, vulnerable? I mean, to be posthuman entails enhancements and augmentations to alleviate the constraints of biology, so there are processes to be developed and achieved. As Bostrom, in another paper The Transhumanist FAQ notes there are a few ways to become posthuman - they include technological and eugenic-like processes.  

• “completely synthetic artificial intelligences”
• “enhanced uploads”
• “result of making many smaller but cumulatively profound augmentations to a biological human.”  Nick Bostrom, “Transhumanist FAQ: A General Introduction Version 2.1” (2003), 5. 

I ask myself, what if all three posthuman ways of being occurred because consensus about choosing one mode was not successful? Would a hierarchy develop? Would a 'haves' and the 'have nots' develop? Would the utopic nature of the hoped-for outcome actually render it impossible, therefore exposing vulnerabilities? Would posthumans end up being a mish-mash?

VASCULAR SYSTEM FOR POSTHUMANS

There are lots of questions to be asked. And, it's both fun and frightening to think about them. And, it's the asking of questions that has inspired my new work on paper Vascular System for Posthumans?

I've combined my much-loved age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life with binary code again. As regular readers know, I see the tree's repeating branching patterns as some kind of template for the universe. Might posthumans or postbeings perhaps already 'roam' in this universe?  

In this painting an x-ray/scan type impression of a body is achieved. Yet, binary code 'instructing' Am I? repeats itself along major vessels in the human vascular system. These erupt into cascading tree appendages and a branching-expanded mind! As I was painting this image, I thought it could represent the merging of human and machine or even a completely synthetic AI's circuitry  - or maybe its idea of what it is...holding onto a remnant of represented human-ness in its synthetic 'brain'. A kind of wishful computation on the part of an original code? I also thought maybe it could represent the 'picture in mind' of 'self' for an enhanced and uploaded mind, even if it does not have a 'body'? Or the image could illustrate "cumulatively profound augmentations to a biological human"...maybe the branching trees represent humanity's expanded presence throughout the universe...well lets stick with the galaxy first then we'll go intergalactic! 

Other recent Posthuman Paintings

Posthuman Modes of Being 

Posthuman 'Habitat'

Two Humans - Uploaded 

Picturing the Posthuman

Picturing the Posthuman Gouache and watercolour on paper 30 x 42 cm 2015

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com 

AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE CUTOUT

Australian Landscape Cutout Oil on linen 50 x 70 cm 2015

AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE CUTOUT

This is a painting from last year. I had fun with this painting - playing with cosmological ideas of landscape. As regular readers know I suggest that whilst Earth is our home, the Universe is our environment. In my work I attempt to untether landscape from Earth-bound horizons. In Australian Landscape Cutout the pale blue dot of Earth is placed against its Universal environment. And, the continent of Australia has been extracted to reveal the Universal embrace where star dust connects everything. 

Privileging a particular landscape is not my intention. Rather, I suggest that privileging a particular continental landscape becomes a myopic exercise when placed within the literal Universal environment, but also when placed against concerns about the future of humanity. Indeed, from a vast distance, Earth's geography disappears. This was clearly illustrated by the famous photograph 'Pale Blue Dot' taken by the spacecraft Voyager 1 when as it started to leave the outer solar system in 1990. Australian Landscape Cutout relates to another painting where I have extracted Australia from the Earth. This painting is called Privileged Landscape? ... notice the question mark!

Exoplanets

With talk of settlements on Mars and discoveries of potential habitable exoplanets orbiting the so-called Goldilocks zone of distant stars, suddenly there is the possibility of humanity extending its reach beyond Earth and even our solar system. I suggest that for this to happen we need to orient ourselves by extending notions of landscape. After all, in language we have extended landscape in the way we describe features on other planets, moons and so on. We use terms such as valley, mountain, plain, haze and more. By coupling language with extensions of how we think about and represent landscape, I propose we can grapple with ideas of life after Earth, life after the human even!

                                        Privileged Landscape Oil on linen 80 x 140 cm 2015

SPACE AND POPULAR CULTURE - ADELAIDE

Regular readers will know that I recently participated in an exciting event in Adelaide, Sth. Australia. I was one of four panellists for a public event 'Space and Popular Culture'. The event was for the Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program from the International Space University [ISU: Strasbourg, France] and co-hosted at the University of Sth Australia.

The four panellists were space archaeologist Dr. Alice Gorman, me, underwater performance artist and Everest mountaineer, Dr. Sarah Jane Pell, and comedian and Mars One astronaut candidate Josh Richards. 

Please read my last post HERE for more of the details, video link etc.

RADIO INTERVIEW

I was interviewed on Radio Adelaide a day or so after the event. You can listen to it HERE

The interview is called The Creative Cosmos: An Interview With Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox 

COSMOLOGY

I read this amazingly interesting essay In The Beginning by Ross Andersen in Aeon Magazine. Please read it and you will understand why I paint the way I do, why I think about the things I do, why I feel a need to express them. Andersen wrote one line that particularly grabbed me "Art, literature, religion and philosophy ignore cosmology at their peril." 

Well...all I can say...with my hand over my heart is...I do not ignore cosmology.

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com