The Swan That Disappeared
Project for July 2025 Artist Residency at Somos Arts
July 3-August 11, 2025
Berlin, Germany
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New communications technologies have contributed to a debasing of the social currency of shared conceptions of objective reality, as fake news, conspiracy theories, and other forms of “truthy” fiction divert public attention and contribute to growing division within many societies. In July 2025, as a resident at SomoS Arts, I devised a project called The Swan That Disappeared. Beginning with a simple “Missing Swan” poster posted along several hundred meters of the Landwehrkanal, members of the public were invited to express interest in, or submit information about, a suspicious swan that had mysteriously disappeared. Over the course of several weeks, the swan’s story grew and mutated, through a growing proliferation of publicly-posted materials, voicemail messages, audio installation elements, live performances, and bespoke interactions with individual members of the public who chose to get in touch.
