"False Flag is proud to present Future Tense – an exhibition of recent
work by Sterling Crispin.
Crispin runs up against the edge of humanity – or at least humanity as
we presently perceive it. His creations mine the artifacts and
reconfigured detritus of larger technological systems. Some already
exist, while others are likely to exist in the near future: emotional
robotics, computational engineering, behemoth venture-capital firms,
and server farms.
Future Tense considers humanity's collective, unclear conclusion,
portraying an apocalypse that never seems to arrive. We have birthed
both technological miracles and existential threats: alongside the
Green Revolution and the Information Age have come climate change and
runaway inequality. Crispin’s work embodies this paradox of
technological advancement – which simultaneously enables both
improvement and destruction."
Hope
Thermoplastic print on aluminum, aluminum framing
62 x 30 x 36 inches
2020
Hope references duality of hope and despair, and the process of
cultivating our higher selves, while resisting the inevitable and
unrelenting hardships that life brings. Sometimes we're pulled towards
both hope and despair at once, and have to find the fortitude to
continue.
Recovery
Thermoplastic print on aluminum, aluminum framing
62 x 30 x 0.25 inches
2020
Transcendence
Thermoplastic print on aluminum, aluminum framing
62 x 30 x 0.25 inches
2020
A002 (Third Nature)
Anodized aluminum
5 x 5 x 3.5 inches
2020
Traditionally creating ikebana arrangements is a symbolic and
spiritual practice that can cultivate self understanding, and call
forth the spirits of nature into one's home. Humanity and nature are
brought together in harmony under heaven, earth, and the universe.
Here a third nature, technology as a global organism, is in a triad
with humanity and nature, demanding that we contemplate it within a
spiritual and ontological context.
A001 (Third Nature)
Anodized aluminum
7 x 9.5 x 3 inches
2020
A004 (Third Nature)
Anodized aluminum
6 x 6 x 2.7 inches
2020
A003 (Third Nature)
Anodized aluminum
9.5 x 5 x 1.6 inches
2020
Dont Panic
Brass, leather, nylon
4 x 3.4 x 2 inches
2018
I'm interested in the way that this piece acts as a voice for our
"right now" of time, but also a voice for the "long now" of time.
Because human extinction through nuclear war or climate collapse may
be imminent, it is both a looming event in the current moment as well
as a perpetual-scale event, as human extinction would last until the
end of time were it to happen.
20XX
Brass, nylon
2.3 x 2.6 x 0.4 inches
2018
No Fate
Steel, bronze, nylon
5.9 x 0.4 x 4.7 inches
2019
Collective Deceleration to Nature
Aluminum, nylon, wax, steel, bronze, gold
34 x 14 x 10 inches
2020
This piece is one of three fire extinguisher candelabras which
reference two dualities: 'collectivism vs authoritarianism' and
'acceleration of technology vs deceleration to nature'.
These opposing dualities when considered together form a conceptual
two-axis graph one can use to understand the position of individuals
and large cultural forces, and their relationships to one another. I
see these dualities as fundamental forces shaping the world and how
they find balance with one another will be the story of the 21st
century.
Collective Acceleration of Technology
Aluminum, nylon, wax, steel, bronze, gold
37 x 11 x 11 inches
2020
Authoritarian Deceleration to Nature
Steel, nylon, wax, steel, bronze, gold
20 x 8 x 7.5 inches
2020
"Far from hopeless, these works are ecstatic. Or perhaps they’re in a place beyond hope, inhabiting a state of only speed and collision as humanity either dies off or transcends itself. If we are to endure, we need more than just technology: our survival requires a new vocabulary, one towards which Crispin moves."
This sculpture is a kind of phurba, a buddhist ritual object with a
fierce, wrathful, piercing energy used to signify stability, which is
used to kill demons and ignorance within ceremonial practices. The
handle references a vajra, a ritual object symbolizing a diamond,
indestructibility, a thunderbolt, irresistible force, the nature of
reality, and enlightenment.
These symbols combined with the phrase "The Inherent Dignity of Every
Person" is meant to evoke a kind of unstoppable, unquestionable
compassion and strengthened bond between all people. It represents a
ritual object to vanquish those who might question the inherent
dignity of every person, while also acting as a literal weapon which
could be used in an emergency if such a person were to threaten your
safety.
Inherent Dignity
Electroplated carbon steel, steel, bronze, gold, cotton, wood
45 x 5 x 5 inches
2020
Escape Vehicle 001
Foam, resin, fiberglass, aluminum, neoprene
72 x 24 x 6 inches
2020
Escape Vehicle 001 is an escape vehicle for the apocalypse, both the
positive transcendent apocalypse, and the doomsday, end of the world
apocalypse. The idea originated from a sketch of a dirtbike I did,
covered in canisters of extra fuel, survival tools, and covered in
ornate gold floral patterns and bold graphics. I started thinking
about other more impractical escape vehicles and I loved the idea of
more of an existential escape vehicle, something you could use to surf
the chaos of the world and experience transcendence with.
Softbank 30-300 Visions
Print on aluminum, aluminum profiling
37 x 60 inches
2020
The imagery and text in this work is largely sourced from an internal
SoftBank presentation about their vision for the future. Softbank's
Vision Fund is arguably the dominant VC investment fund and is the
world's largest tech investor at 100B$+. Their strategy is to "create
platforms between demand and producers, take over 80%+ of the market,
then dynamically price everything for profit".
Nearly all of the text and imagery is directly from their vision
presentation, superimposed on itself to highlight the manic optimism,
perplexing contradictions, and frightening mortal threats and
consequences of our world. It's a view into how a multibillion dollar
global corporation processes existentialism and imagines a future
closer to the singularity.
Extinction
Cotton, nylon, plastic
60 x 60 inches
2020
