by John Chilver
published in Schizm, issue 3, London, 2011, p18
[1/AFE] Phrase made of two words ‘moral hazard’ born in insurance industry. Describes when guy insures building against fire then takes fewer precautions than woulda done if hadn’t taken out an insurance policy. Or where thinks about starting fire cos insured. Why fuck didn’t Michel cleverdick Foucault write history of insurance? Less glamorous than madness, sexuality or punishment, for sure, yes, for sure – but invention of insurance more heart of who we are now. Multiplication-plus-normalization of emergency everywhere. Absolutely every level. Have so often to look new route across town when London street several hours taped crimescene forensics. Three nights now into riots August 2011, new variant London emergency sort of nervously taken in stride of Londoners. Holloway Road lockdown 3pm Tuesday. Shopkeepers wonder if insured against arson during civil disturbance. [2/ICR] How to experience state of feeling as unity? Or as disunity? Listen to voice: “You spoke, pushed your chair back at the meeting, I could tell you were petrified.” That the measure of subjective change? Other voice: “At this age she changes every day.” [3/CNW] Artworld oh so long awash with ideas that blah on about destitution/obsolescence of unified subject, but never never never stops never stops demanding neatly unified nicely packaged ideas-procedures by neatly unified nicely packaged artist-authors. We know thirsty, brisk-networking artist-author who signs material tokens of immaterial values is model capitalist. Doings and beings and floatings said contrasted with havings for sure, yes, for sure. But all also aligns dematerial-material-token artwork with dematerial-friction-free capital and everyone’s happy except me and him and her and them. Listen to voice: “There’s no underground, bitterness is what you found.” Unpublished tv schedule shows when adverts and trailers are on. “Let the euro become the currency of the deadbeats.” Most people nod wisely. Voice says “Home is the most important place in the world.” And “There’s more to life than hair.” There’s no outside. Therefore no inside either.
© Copyright 2021