Dark Moon: The Good Life, Doing Good

performance in installation, 2017, New Conditions, Amsterdam (2 projections on wood pannel, candle in shape of infinity sign, hypnosis session)

The Good Life
Imagine a small island within the art world that is pure.
Everyone is nuanced and sincere.
All artwork is engaged with society.
You are praised and respected for your sharp, honest personality and recognised for your strong practice.
Picture a gathering in this place, maybe an exhibition opening, a screening, or a publication launch.
You are celebrating together.
You finally stopped brooding over the shame of success.
You have rooted out all collusion with the status quo.
This magical place is not affected by art world manoeuvres.
You are no longer absorbed into the production of the new.
Instead of surrendering to defeatist rituals, in the face of a seemingly overpowering enemy, with no outside, you have found an undefeatable stance.

Doing Good
You are an artist who cares deeply about the world.
The inequality and injustices around you cause your heart great grief.
You wallow in your desire to make a difference.
Now dream of a world where your work does succeed.
A dream in which your strongest artwork, your one artwork, has the power to change and transform the world in any way you desire.
Your thoughts are alive, in new and positive ways, because they are transforming the world.
In your mind’s eye, I want you to picture this work very clearly.
Feel it in every cell of your body.
How does it make you feel?

—Excerpt from video script, Self-Help Hypnosis Session for the Sociopolitical Artist, Laura Wiedijk, 2017