Commons at SODA

Abandon Normal Devices (AND) presents Commons, a brand new programme of inclusive and interactive events, showcasing the work of digital artists Jazmin Morris and collective Keiken. Commons is created in collaboration with the School of Digital Arts (SODA) and invites audiences into an open dialogue, challenging traditional ways of sharing knowledge and championing diverse ways to participate in digital arts and gaming environments.

Keiken — whose name translates to experience in Japanese — create immersive encounters that offer glimpses into speculative futures and possible digital worlds.

For Commons, they’ve created Worldbuilding and the Nature of Reality, an exploration of how sensory and emotional experience can be translated into the virtual realm. The work is a key component of their larger project and world in development Morphogenic Angels Chapter 2 – the upcoming second installment of their game, informed by their connections with marginalised communities in Japan, and particularly inspired by a key collaborator and deaf-blind queer artist Sakura Sky. Worldbuilding and the Nature of Reality encourages empathy, understanding and opportunities to playfully navigate how our energy impacts others. Visitors can play through the first chapter of the installation on 26 April and find out more about the artists’ process in an Artist in Conversation on 7 May – check the AND website for session times and more information.

In the summer, Jazmin Morris will transform SODA’s Modal Gallery into Sandbox – a community resource hosting workshops, talks and an interactive library. Making available carefully chosen resources for collective resistance and liberation, the library will be distributing media both online and offline. Sandbox questions traditional methods of knowledge exchange, aiming to make them as accessible as possible.

Morris uses play, creative computing and worldbuilding (here relating to a process of imagining alternative worlds at a time of ecological crises). Her practice is participatory, critically examining online hierarchies while advocating for openness, particularly around culture and identity.

Commons is a bold and playful invitation to explore how technology can be used as an inclusive tool for communication, creativity, and change. Join  over the coming months to experience it for yourself.