(0xSalon) I initiated and administer a para-institutional project named the 0xSalon, which is a collective endeavour that critically interrogates digital culture through discourse events and residencies, producing scholarly and creative interventions in the process. We are conducting an ongoing, non-profit experiment in knowledge sharing and collective cultural production. Peruse the topics we research and discuss, read the 0xSalon semi-regular Sweeping Statements newsletter, or listen to our occasional SalonCast audio reports.
(journal) I’m Technology Editor & write a column ‘Tour d’Horizon’ at the MIT Computational Law Report. Currently working on an article series titled ‘(Mis)adventures in Crypto-Governance’. Read here.
(consultations) I work on economics, design, and philosophy of peer-to-peer systems at Giza and BlockScience, and am a crypto-art Mentor at the Collecteurs Academy. These are the best ways to engage with me on creative, epistemic, and technical matters pertaining to digital art, tokens, peer-to-peer networks, and everything in-between. If you prefer to book in with me directly, you may do so here.
(pedagogy) I teach courses, convene workshops, and give lectures at universities, arts festivals, and conferences around the world. These cover a wide range of technical, philosophical, and creative topics. Details upon request.
(artistic residency) Myself and 0x Salon were jointly awarded a S+T+ARTS Repairing The Present residency, funded by the European Commission. We were in residence at Art Hub Copenhagen throughout ‘22, working on a critical programme of creative and speculative works titled ‘The Art of Indifference’ which resulted in a theatre production in Denmark, an interactive storytelling environment, and exhibitions at MEET in Milan and ZKM in Karlsruhe. More here.
An essay ‘Necroprimitivism Rising’ on the cult of proof-of-work is included in the second issue of the Agorism XXI journal. Exploring the dark kernel of techno-nihilism driving the social dynamics of the Bitcoin network's most faithful adherents, I've been trying to put these sentiments into words for a very long time. Through many failed attempts, the serendipity of creative accidents produced poetry, scripture, visual art, and satirical theatre which is all fittingly embedded within the text. Read the journal here.
(interview) Did an interview in the peak of summer with Balazs from Paris-Budapest Metro, covering the origins of the 0xSalon, contemporary trends in culture and technology, the failed dream of the internet, and where techno-colonialism might be going next. Watch here.
(essay) My latest text ‘Prophet Motives &Knightwork States’ is out in the wild, published by the kind folks at Folklore. Really very happy to push this out into the world, and looking forward to discussing and elaborating upon the various threads that this text opens up. This essay, part of a larger body of work ongoing for several years now, explores entanglements between technology, capital, and spirituality, with particular emphasis on the neocolonial desires of would-be empires and their self-appointed messiahs. Read here.
(upcoming) I’m currently working on ‘Scenes From A Memorypool’, a collection of highly experimental texts developing last year’s ‘The Art of Indifference’ storylore into theory-fiction vignettes for an upcoming book. The latest instalment of my ‘(mis)adventures in Crypto-Governance’ editorial column series will be included in the MIT Computational Law Report shortly and can be previewed here. Research is ongoing for ‘Prophet Motives’ and ‘Fau0x Salon’ creative and discursive works, in preparation for multiple upcoming exhibitions.
(interview) Epochalypse Now? Listen back to a deep two-hour conversation exploring the theoretical underpinnings of my recent research on proof-of-work, symbolic economies, socio-technical steering, messiah complexes, and new regimes of temporal production. I regret to inform you that Baudrillard, Greenspan, Daggett, Land, Deleuze, Kant, Nakamoto, and Agamben are all in there. Thanks to Dustin Breitling and Diffractions Collective for being such considered hosts! Diffractions Collective website.
Aeonic Epochalypse w/ Wassim Alsindi by Diffractions Collective
(symposium) I participated in Amsterdam’s FIBER Festival Symposium mid-May, discussing 'Fragmented Collectivity: new ways of collective, decentralised, and careful togetherness' with fellow 0x Salon epistemic troublemaker Alice Yuan Zhang. Watch here.
(book) I co-wrote a new foreword to Anna Greenspan’s Ph.D. thesis ‘Capitalism’s Transcendental Time Machine’, for a book edition now available via Miskatonic Virtual University Press. Read it here.
Broadcast Edition ::: 22 Years of Transcendental Time Machines
(presentation) I gave a ‘Prophet Motives’ lecture at the Philosophy Department at the University of the West of England recently. Watch here.
(AMA/interview) The AMA session I did with Collecteurs Academy is available here.
(music) A recently rediscovered ancient sonic excavation: The Cave of Blue Moonlight (2013). Stream / download here.
(panel) I recently joined old friend Mad Bitcoins and The Bitcoin Group on The World Crypto Network livestream, where we discussed proof-of-work amongst other things. Watch here.
(articles) A short piece on Bitcoin eschatologies ‘In The State Machine of Nature, Nothing Will Be Lost’ was published on the occasion of 업체eobchae’s solo exhibition eoracle, at DOOSAN Gallery, Seoul. Some clippings here.
No Gods, No Master(Node)s: Decentralisation, Delegation & Dissent on the Timechain // Wassim Alsindi
(exhibitions) The 0xSalon’s interactive storytelling environment ‘THE IMMACULATE MISCONCEPTION’ was exhibited at MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan in October. A video documenting our satirical play ‘THE BLACK HOLE OF MONEY’ will be presented at ZKM in Karlsruhe in November. More information here, and some mainstream press coverage.
THE BLACK HOLE OF MONEY Theatre Premiere presented by CLICK Festival (Helsingor, Denmark, 19/8/22)
The Art of Indifference: Wassim Z. Alsindi & the 0x Salon's STARTS Residency Video (full)
(theatre premiere) The 0xSalon debuted our new satirical play about Bitcoin recently! ‘THE BLACK HOLE OF MONEY’ was presented by CLICK at the Kulturvaeftet, Helsingør, Denmark on Friday August 19th. Get in touch to discuss future presentations. More info here.
(dialogue article) Over a few weeks in spring’22, I co-authored a dialogue entitled ‘Notes on Phygitality’ with Charlie Robin Jones. The end result was published in NXS WORLD, Issue#6 which is available in print from all fine outlets. You can now read it online here.
(memes) I recently did an interview for Spectrum in Milan around Memetic Countercultures. Read here.
(consultations) Pleased to announce that I am now a Collecteurs Academy Mentor! This is the best way to reach me for discussions on creative, epistemic, and technical matters pertaining to digital art, tokens, peer-to-peer networks, and everything in-between. Book in with me here.
(radio play) The 0x Salon recently published ‘SWAN FAKE’ (February’22), an improvised radio play that was initiated by the Black Swan Working Group at Trust in early’21. Listen here.
(article) writings on the hows and whys of tokenised art ‘JPEGing The Question: Histories and Futures of Immateraliality’ (February’22) is now available on RightClickSave, a new critical discourse platform. Read here.
(article) my article ‘Bitcointingency: An Economics of Indeterminacy’ (February’22) has been published by Weird Economies, an art platform exploring idiosyncrasies of speculative finance. Read here.
(article) I wrote the feature essay ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Tokenised’ (January’22) for issue#70 of Spike Art Magazine, critiquing digital art. Read here.
(interview) Berlin Art Link interviewed me about the 0x Salon, memes, GANs and token art (January’22). Read here.
Archive Selections: 2021 and Prior
(interview) I did an extensive interview on Bitcoin and tokenisation which is in print in ‘The Speculative Issue’ of Awham Magazine (October’21). Now online here.
(articles) co-authored IPR Glossaries on Cryptoeconomics (April’21) & Mining (April’21)
(video) Vancouver-based 221a hosted a special streamed conversation for the Blockchains & Cultural Padlocks project on the theme of Patricia Reed’s recent piece ‘The Valuation of Necessity: A Cosmological View of Our Technologies & Culture’. I spoke on ‘Metrics, Limits and Externalities’ (June’21). Watch on YouTube.
Wassim Z. Alsindi PhD Wassim is the founder and creative director of the 0xSalon, which conducts experiments in post-disciplinary collective knowledge practices. A veteran of the timechain, Wassim specialises in conceptual design and philosophy of peer-to-peer systems, on which he writes, speaks, teaches, and consults. He has an editorial column at the MIT Computational Law Report, and he co-founded MIT’s Cryptoeconomic Systems journal and conference series. Wassim has curated arts festivals, led a sculptural engineering laboratory and published experimental music, satirical theatre, poetry, fiction, games and speculative scripture. Wassim holds a Ph.D. in ultrafast supramolecular photophysics from the University of Nottingham.
