Paris Internationale - © Paris Internationale
􏰀􏰁􏰁􏰂􏰀􏰃􏰄GEEKGOD - © Paris Internationale
PIERRE PORTELLI
􏰀􏰁􏰁􏰂􏰀􏰃􏰄GEEKGOD
1/1

2012
Broomheads on wood
122 x 122 cm
Unique work

The coir brooms represent an archaic technology that nonetheless brought about a change in perception, the institution of the notion of cleansing as a quotidian purifying act, a simple measure of godliness, the return to the pristine. In the work, the broom is a tool that distances what is objectionable to the self from the self, a repudiation of the alien impurity that threatens a set belief system.
New media technology has turned contemporary society into a knowledge-based society. Old beliefs have not been repudiated, yet for the new society to accept them they had to go through a process of sentimental mockery, so people can still practice them with no “old-timer” label.
Here, the socially challenged ‘geek’ is both the radical other and the new expert who possesses the authentic belief, therefore some form of social authority. Yet, the idea of a culturally constructed other in contrast with the dominant culture persists regardless of the discourse relating to diversity, which more often than not is punctuated by a parallel discourse on the need to establish measures of sameness.

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