the act of reading is never a passive act. when one is reading, one unfolds all the cultural constraints, the previous gained references, and some times, the possibility of practicing one’s own agency. from that perspective, nevertheless, reading becomes a writing gesture. and any writing gesture is also a spatial production. reading bodies. a gathering of inner s(h)elves presents a one daylong exercise of narration composed of different voices, following on aby warburg’s articulation of the ‘law of the good neighbour’. warburg’s proposal was a way to approach libraries in which the unknown book on the shelf, neighbour to that which was familiar, could indeed change the course of one’s research. this proposition about libraries could be an operative translation to the understanding of the body as an archive. one that talks about history, present conditions and potential desire. a constantly transforming agent that communicates through storytelling, oral history, text, traditions, rituals but also fashion, gastronomy, choreography and the unknown.
¿WHO WILL RECOGNISE ME? ¿Who will recognise me when I get rid of bows, soap, my hair, lipstick, fluoride, my teeth, glasses, mascara, my eyelashes, clothes, perfume, my skin? And then, when I show myself in flesh and blood, in front of the mannequins in shop windows in the streets, who will recognise me?
¿Will you resist the temptation to take me to a safe place?
I want to open my stomach drawer. I want to open my heart drawer. I will build a pyramid of feelings. I will discover the most important people in my life. I want to smell my scents and pleasures. For my own sake, I shouldn’t sit still. I can’t lose my shadow. I will go far. I will go to a silent place. I need a signal. I want a migrated body. I have a spice spine. I will find my veins in my original country. Let me in. Let me in from side to side. I need to open and close down my drawers. I want to walk backwards. I want to find my inner temple. I need to climb all my drawers and get to the top of myself. I have a sphinx in one of drawers. I have an obelisk. I want to find the key of the right monuments inside of me. I want different people to open my drawers. They can find myself in a corner. They can find my language in a hole. My body is ready to communicate with everybody. My body has its own tongue and its own language. My body has its own way of feeling. I’m going to meet all those people and I will change my drawers with them. I have a few rusty screws. I wish to have a screwdriver. Memories are not static. Walking slowly; the moment I stop looking for them, they are going to appear. When I don’t look for, it is going to appear. I can’t throw my feelings down the drain. I can’t let them go. I can’t pass them around. I bow between my conscience and my dreams. I can’t have a web-life. I prefer to offer my entrails to the spiders. They are groaning because my world is falling down falling apart. I will find my place. My body took the measures of the Latin-American continent. There, I will find my scent. Swift pilgrimage. Flashes. Slender Blazes. Groans. Solitary grief. I want my key. My sibilant secret. My intricate nationality. Switched off the voices, the dark steps in this empty city, this empty drawer in this empty body. I will find it. I will find it. I will. I will. I will.
Michael | Aries michael.demps@yale.edu Want to surprise him? Cook him a spicy dinner, perhaps something Tex Mex–or–just tease him by putting a jalapeno pepper in your mouth and dare him to bite it gently (a la 9 1/2 Weeks). Then alternate sweet flavors with spicy (Aries rules spicy flavors). That’s a way to get his attention! Jana | Aries pacheco.1909@gmail.com Aries rules the head, and a bad hair day is no joke for our girl. Having her hair just right gives her increased self confidence, and by giving her a chic new look, she’s apt to be delighted. Be prepared for her open demonstrations of her love for you! If you would rather choose something for her that is a bit more sexy, get her a short satin wrap robe with matching demi-bra and tiny thong panties, in her favorite color, bright red. An Aries girl loves uniforms, so let her see you in your Navy dress whites the next time you call on her. If you don’t have an “Officer and a Gentleman” uniform around, any other uniform will do. Laura | Capricorn yonabout.hotglue.me Your lady is so used to making all the decisions at home and at work that she is tired of it all. She wants to be rescued now and then instead of having to rescue everyone else. Take her back to your apartment. Since this sign rules history, buy her a historical romance novel and read steamy portions of it to her in bed. Or, rent a romantic video, set in the days of knights and princes. Transfer all those feelings to you. Here is your chance to be her real life knight in shining armor and you will have her heart for life. Sophia | Capricorn cargocollective.com/sophiaschultz When getting her jewelry, think about buying an antique piece of estate jewelry, or give her something handed down from your grandmother. For a lovely dinner, take her to your club or to a restaurant that looks like a grand estate. Afterwards, give her a madly romantic experience, such as a carriage ride through the park in the snow, with warm blanket and brandy afterwards, or plan to meet her on top of a tall building, such as the Empire State building. Kiss her passionately, and promise her your true love. Del | Libra www.delhardinhoyle.com Here’s an idea for a Libran seduction: propose a day spent touring a pretty rural locale and tuck some of his favorite music into the glove compartment. Don’t forget to pack a gourmet picnic basket (Libra likes fine food and delicacies). While he is driving and his hands are full, start to touch him–before you know it, you will be pulled over on a small dirt road, the music reaching crescendo, while he makes love to you in the back seat, just like two high school teenagers. There is something devilishly lovely about doing it in the back seat of his BMW or Lexus (many Libra men are lawyers, so they can afford good cars). Anya | Libra www.anyayermakova.com The Libra woman adores lighter foreplay activities and is a world-class kisser. If you haven’t yet tapped into this aspect of her, you are missing one of life’s true experiences. Corner her into a hot necking session somewhere like at the movies, where the other viewers won’t care if you and she are going at one another like two kids hell bent on trouble. If you are lucky, the usher may come with her flashlight and scold you! When you finally get her to bed she will want a slow hand, for Libra women never marry cold fish or slam-bam-thank-you-m’am types. Maíra | Sagittarius mairadietrich.com The Sag woman has no patience with frilly nightgowns but prefers either something plain and natural. What would she most likely wear to bed? A cool, thin, tight white cotton tank top which outlines her breasts, worn with tiny cotton string panties–or nothing at all. She likes men’s wear, so you might catch her putting on your button-down shirt with not much else on but a smile. She will do more for your shirt than you could ever imagine. Ally | Sagittarius www.allybishopp.com She will be impressed if you treat your body like a temple, so try to work out often. Then, you can lounge around in tight bicycle shorts to heat things up. Look at her innocently and say you took a part time job as a messenger and need to wear them for practicality and comfort. (She’d got a good sense of humor.) Since this woman would love a strenuous workout, plan an active, feather-flying pillow fight or try chasing her around the yard. Feeling randy? Toss her into a snow drift. The aim here is to get her pulse rate up then convince her she won’t need her morning run with you around. Kate | Capricorn dc684@cornell.edu In love she is slow and careful. Never one to wander from one flirtation to another, the Capricorn woman has her feet well planted on the ground. If her man suggests something new to her and she isn’t sure, he should give her time. Capricorn generally likes to mull things over and get used to ideas. She must never be forced or she will resist for sure.
Marié | Leo www.marienlg.com This is one lady you are going to have to woo with gifts. She expects them, wants them, and enjoys them, so you might as well cave in and buy them for her. She looks stunning and regal in purple, so choose something in that color, whether it be a lace teddy, bra and panty set or drop-dead, killer nightie. She will also sparkle in gold–try getting her a classy knit sweater shot through with golden threads that shimmer in the evening light, then take her to a four star restaurant for dinner so she can wear it. Surprise her with an overnight stay at a rustic hotel with ornate wooden architecture and antique furniture. Make sure to reserve a room with a roaring fireplace. Or send her two dozen long-stemmed roses (don’t even THINK of trying to get away with one dozen), a generous box of imported bittersweet chocolates or a bottle of fine champagne for you both to drink later. Sophie | Pisces www.reignoferror.com.au Don’t be overtly sexual with Pisces–she is subtle and indirect. Come across brash and aggressive and she’ll vanish. Instead, give her a book of romantic poetry, like that of Edna St. Vincent Millay or a beautiful black & white photograph of a couple kissing. Or give her music, perhaps something soothing and spiritual, such as Enya, Orion or Monks singing Gregorian chant. No other sign loves costume and fantasy as much as Pisces does, so when you get to know her well, suggest you both go shopping together for an outfit to wear in the bedroom–a French maid? Cleopatra? Elvira, Mistress of the Dark? Her rich imagination needs fantasy, so you will be on the right track. Lorenzo | Scorpio theinstituteforendoticresearch.org The Scorpion is determined, shrewd, protective, jealous, and powerful. It is a sign prone to obsession, and the Scorpio man is not nonchalant about anything, from his career to his love life. Symbolized by the phoenix rising from the ashes, this bird aptly suggests Scorpio’s incredible ability to regenerate from seemingly disastrous situations. Much has been written about how sexy and mysterious Scorpio is. To him sex is very important, and it would be impossible for him to have a happy relationship without great sex. The Scorpio male is macho, a modern day 007: thrilling, strong, silent and handsome. Maria | Scorpio www.mariaceron.com While the Scorpio woman is always a lady in public, she loves being her man’s fantasy woman in the bedroom. Buy her some new lingerie in of her most flattering tones: maroon, eggplant or a black. Elegant French and Italian imported lingerie will impress her so buy her a demi-cup push up bra, tiny, sheer g-string bikini and elegant garter belt, complete with a pair of black seamed stockings. She may also be amused and aroused by a lavishly illustrated photography book by Helmut Newton or Doris Kloster. If you get lucky, she may want to experiment a little by lap dancing for you and you alone. So Hee | Scorpio behance.net/skim26 If you take your Scorpio beloved out for dinner, make it a private little dark rendezvous, overlooking water if possible or better yet, as a guest on a private yacht (preferably yours). The Scorpion woman will always be understated with her powerful sexuality–she doesn’t need to flaunt it, it exudes naturally. In her dress, she is very careful about her accessories, buying only the finest shoes and handbags, and if she needs one, an elegant leather brief case. She knows these accessories punctuate her entire look and impart a feeling of true elegance. Paula | Virgo cargocollective.com/paulaqve Since Virgo prizes cleanliness so much, seduce her with a bubble bath for two. Set dozens of softly-scented votive candles around the bathroom and be sure to have some thick, luxurious towels nearby. A bottle of champagne would be good to have on hand, as would a bowl of finger fruits–grapes, strawberries, raspberries–to feed her one by one. After your bath, give her a full body massage. Later, when you make love, be sure to talk to her during sex because nothing as erotic to her as her vivid imagination. Describe places and situations where you would like to make love to her down to the tiniest details. Femke | Cancer femkefredrix.tumblr.com Give her an exquisite strand of pearls or a skimpy, slinky, expensive nightgown in one of her moon colors–silver, creamy white or pale, smoky blue. She would also adore flowers–but instead of sending her red or pink roses, make your bouquet a variety of flowers in Cancer’s color–snow white–tied with a gorgeous thick white satin ribbon. You’ll eventually discover (if she likes you) that she has beautiful, firm, fully-rounded breasts (the part of the body the sign rules) which, in bed, she adores having her man fondle and admire. Paint them with thousands of kisses and caress them gently.
All text from http://www.astrologyzone.com/life-love/seducing-your-lover/
“Reading Bodies” by The Institute for Endotic Research has been a month-long workshop in the frame of AFFECT 2016 facilitated by Lorenzo Sandoval inviting participants to work on ways to approach libraries, archives and its potential performativities, in relation with the body. To develop this process, the group has been realizing a series of studio-visits, projects and public events in the archive of Broken Dimanche Press, Savvy Contemporary and District Berlin. Module III of AFFECT 2016 is developed in cooperation with The Institute for Endotic Research (TIER), artistic project initiated by Sandoval assembled to work as a host that brings different disciplines together, namely architecture, art, writing and curation, acting as a platform of encounters through the production of a fictional institution with an operative program of collaborations with other agents, composed with the help of architectural devices. AFFECT is a Program for Collaborative Artistic Practices initiated by Agora Collective e.V. in Berlin, currently in its third edition. A hybrid between an educational program and a thematic artist’ residency, AFFECT proposes its participants to arrive at a final collective project based on experimentation, interdisciplinarity and critical engagement. Each module takes the form of a participatory workshop revolving around a central research question supported by a series of activities proposed by the facilitators. Participants will have the opportunity to collectively delve into the proposed research question, bringing in their own sensibilities, practice and experience. Collective exercises, urban explorations and site visits, readings and discussions pave the way towards the co-generation of a final event which allows the group to share and exercise some of the module’s findings in a public format. The aim of the program is to develop an environment where participants can engage in collaborative methodologies, fostering open, committed and respectful group dynamics welcoming the practice of the other and continuing a chain of affection. Agora Collective is a Berlin-based experimental center for contemporary practices. Founded in 2011, as an independent project space, Agora expands its mission to prototype an interdisciplinary community in two venues. Agora is devoted to reflect on alternative models for cultural, social and economical production nowadays, developing a diverse and inclusive programme in the fields of arts, sustainability and beyond. Agora is a member of CAPP: COLLABORATIVE ARTS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM, a cross-European network of institutions supported by Creative Europe - Culture Sub Programme between 2015/2018 under the flag of “Art in social and community contexts”
pg 2/3 marié, text by lorenzo
pg 12/13 sophia, beatriz viol and maria
pg 4/5 jana, perec, marié and so hee
pg 14/15 paula
pg 6/7 perec, jana, perec and femke
pg 16/17 ally, sophia and marié
pg 8/9 kate, lorenzo and perec
pg18/19 paz and dori, ally and jana
pg 10/11 so hee, walter de mignolo and maíra
pg 20/21 sophia, femke and sophie/ endotic dinner
special thanks to: District, Savvy and Broken Dimanche Press, Deborah Ligorio, Solvej Helvej Ovesen, Taggart+Lewis, Fotini Lazaridou Hatzigoga, Jenny Brockmann, Emma Haugh and Dorottya Magyar. Artistic director: Caique Tizzi Project Coordinator: Paz Ponce design by maíra dietrich edition of 50 july 2017