SAY WHAT YOU MEAN WHAT YOU SAY
“The historical materialist cannot do without the concept of a present which is not a transition, in which time originates and has come to a standstill. For this concept defines precisely the present in which he writes history for his person. Historicism depicts the “eternal” picture of the past; the historical materialist, an experience with it, which stands alone.”
“Marx says that revolutions are the locomotive of world history. But perhaps it is quite otherwise. Perhaps revolutions are an attempt by the passengers on this train namely, the human race, to activate the emergency brake."
Paralipomena to “On The Concept Of History"- Walter Benjamin (1940)
Say What You Mean What You Say was a multi-media installation featuring a two channel video, ruminating on various aspects of Accelerationist theory through the generation of a series of circular suspensions or ‘anterooms’. In critical reflection of the techno-expansion of capital and liberal economics, aspects of the installation were obliquely modelled on a wax statue in Shenzhen, China produced to commemorate the historic meeting between Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping to sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration. This event is often citing amongst Marxist theorists as a signifier of the official implementation of Xiaoping’s ‘One Country, Two systems’ ideology and a prime example of accelerationist economics. From this perspective the exhibition examined the efficacy of progressive Marxist strategies and Walter Benjamin’s concept of the ‘emergency brake’ through a loose re-imagining of this meeting as a train journey continually suspended within a similar dialectical context.
"I make holes, little holes, still more little holes little holes, little holes, always little holes Holes for second class
holes for first class
I make holes, little holes, still more little holes little holes, little holes, always little holes Little holes, little holes,
little holes, little holes
in order to take me out of this hole where I make little holes little holes, little holes, always little holes
But the boat takes off
And l see that l am derailing
And I stay in my holes to make little holes Little holes, little holes,always little holes,....."
Le Poinçonneur des Lilas - Serge Gainsbourg 1958
"Black cat or white cat, if it can catch mice, it's a good cat."
Deng Xiaoping