Spirit tactics: (techno)magic as epistemic practice in media arts and resistant tech

Abstract

Speculative narratives of (techno)magic such as those oered by feministtechnoscience, cyberwitches and techno-shamanism come from knowledge systemslong marginalised in a hyper-optimised and hard-science-reliant capitalistdiscourse. Aiming to de-centre Western rational imaginaries of technology, theyspeak from decolonial and translocal perspectives, in which the relations betweenhumans and technology are reconfigured in terms of care, relationality andmultiplicity of epistemic positions. Inthis paper, we consider (techno)magic as anact of transgressing a knowledge system plus relational ethics plus capacity to actbeyond the constraints of the current capitalist belief system. (Techno)magic isabout disentangling from commodified forms of belief and knowledge and insteadcultivating solidarity, relationality, common spaces and trust with non-humans:becoming-familiar with the machine. What critical approaches, epistemicandaesthetic procedures do these speculative practices enable in media art andresistant tech? In what ways does “magic” act as an alternative political imaginaryin the age of hegemonic Western epistemologies? Drawing on feminist STS and theworks of artists such as Choy Ka Fai, Omsk Social Club, Ian Cheng, SuzanneTreister and others, we propose to address (techno)magic seriously as an ethicaland epistemic practice.

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ORCID for Alexandra Anikina: orcid.org/0000-0003-2686-3616

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