How would you describe your practice to someone new?
I feel there are some affinities with what Bourriaud theorised as relational aesthetic. Like me, my works desperately need to relate to others in order to feel complete ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ 〜Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
What drew you to making work with and about digital technologies?
More than their visual capabilities, I'm fascinated by all the economical and political speculations new technologies allow us to imagine╰( •̀ω•́)━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ
What is your relationship with your computer like? How does it affect your work?
The term whistler (in my dumb username) is the codename for windows xp, an operating system I used to consider my only friend and my only family.
I remember I once was in a long-distance relationship and began to think that my lover wasn't existing and that my computer generated his texts.
To misquote McLuhan "the medium is the messenger" lol ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)>⌐■-■
Can you tell us more about your "Jon Rafman Fan Art" series?
Sure! It is a series of videos, paintings, screenshots, sculptures etc I started in 2016, right after visiting The Present in Drag IX Berlin Biennale curated by DIS. All the artworks are based on a fictional narration that follows my own The Sims 3 character going on dates with Jon Rafman, a bunch of friends and his mom Sandra.
I consider this project as an ode to fanart, fanfiction, amateurism and sexual deviance more than a celebration of Jon Rafman himself, although I can't help but loving him (∗∕ ∕•̥̥̥̥∕ω∕•̥̥̥̥∕)
That's why I'll never fully stop this series, it's quite pathetic but seeing Jon's work made me feel loveable and able to love for the first time in my life; I'll always be thankful to that kool-aid rascal ＊*♡( ⁎ᵕᴗᵕ⁎ ）
What are the concepts and ideas behind A woman trapped in a woman's body, the digital installation you created at De:Formal Residency?
Due to some personal turmoil, I started digging into gender-related literature; from the infamous Blanchard to Julia Serano. I ended up focusing on autogynephilia or Male/Masculine Embodiment Fantasy (getting aroused by the thought of having a male/masculine body).
This is something not all theorists agree with, but I believe that what causes our orgasms deeply affects the definition of our identity (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖) ᴿᴬᵂᴿ
I linked these fantasies to 4chan's ladypots' fetish, which to me represented the impotence and the hyper-sexualization one could feel inhabiting a woman's body.
What is your process like?
I get obsessed with something, then I work till I get depressed and frustrated
┻━┻ ヘ╰( •̀ε•́ ╰)
Are there new ideas, themes, or techniques you are interested in exploring next?
I'm currently more focused on fixing artworks from the past I never really showed due to dissatisfaction (//•﹏•) I'm also marginally developing a project on angels I was supposed to physically show when the pandemic started.
The digital art landscape has changed drastically in the past year, accelerated by the pandemic lockdown and the uprising of NFT. What are your opinions on this progress? What do you envision the future of digital art to be like?
What I find more dangerous about art nowadays is the spread of identity politics and the conception of artworks only as charitable initiatives. NFTs are hype machines atm, but accurate token-engineering could possibly change capitalism as we know.
I wish for an art system regulated by more informed people, less interested in splitting artists into categories and keener to recognize talent and an actual need for funding ʕ ᵔᴥᵔ ʔ
Have you seen or read anything interesting lately that you would like to share?
I visited Giuliana Rosso’s studio a few months ago which was an exciting experience.
I'm also closely following Joshua Citarella's twitch channel, Aksioma's streaming and all the virtual meetings curated by Carina Erdmann.
Visit A woman trapped in a woman's body: deformalgallery.wixsite.com/twee-whistler
For more of Twee: tweewhistler.tumblr.com | @twee_whistler