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UR...A Practical Guide to Unconscious Reasoning
Shared by Marcus Coates | Traced by Ananda Serné
Image: Ritual for Elephant and Castle (2009) – Marcus CoatesThe course will explore creative problem solving using the interpretation of mental imagery and imagined experience. The course is not therapeutic, but will aim to open new creative ways of addressing questions/problems that ordinary methods of reasoning struggle with. The principle of the activity is that we all carry a wealth of experience and knowledge that is available to us but is difficult to utilise because of the influences on the way we use reasoning. The course will develop your irrationality, individual logic and experiential knowledge. These methods have been developed and used by Marcus Coates in his performance artworks, in which he has often acted on behalf of people, communities and politicians to help offer solutions to problems. Many people are familiar with the therapeutic practice of journeying or guided meditation, but this process is specifically pragmatic in its approach and outcomes.
The training will require participants to cultivate and immerse themselves in their own imagined worlds. As such it is important that they have a positive relationship with their imaginations. If an immersion in the imagination (eyes closed, experiencing durational events in the mind's eye) is not a comfortable activity and is expected to be problematic in any way this course should not be undertaken.
Marcus Coates is an artist and amateur naturalist based in London. His work includes performances and installations recorded as video art, which are often ritual based with pragmatic outcomes as their aim. He often collaborates with others to create processes marked by empathy and trust, working with audiences, organisations, and institutions, as well as experts from various fields.
Ananda Serné is a writer and visual artist based in Bergen. Her work often starts from conversations with others, for example with biologists or people suffering from insomnia. This results in constellations of media such as video, performance and textiles. She gathers specific images and sounds on location that serve as ingredients in her work, these elements are then intuitively arranged into new storylines.Next to her visual practice, she works as a writer. In 2022, her debut novel “Nightblooming” was published in the Netherlands. The story is set in a society that struggles with sleeplessness.
