Besetting Silfren Bullion

Dustin Cecil

Besetting Silfren Bullion, animated gif

Interview by C. VanWinkle
Via email, March 4-18, 2023

What was the prompt that you responded to?

The prompt I received was called “Meshes On an Afternoon”. It was a grayscale/black-and-white photograph of a figure standing in front of a mirror, holding a circular handheld mirror. I think it was Photoshopped or manipulated in some way, so the images captured by the circle mirror were overlaid on the figure itself. In some shots only a portion of the figure’s face can be seen, and in some shots the camera lens is visible. The final image reads to my eye as equal parts fractured but not shattered, and self-contained but unconfined.

Do you remember your first impression of it? How did you feel about it?

I was immediately impressed by how the image refused to let my eyes rest. It was clear that mirrors were being used, so right away I tried to work out and match up reflections with actual objects and figures in the photos. But there were too many mirror angles for my brain to figure out. Once I gave up reading the photo with such a logical approach, my eyes crackled and popped all over the place. This image sizzled. The mirrored circles and the figure run down the middle of the image, so it sort of felt like a game of visual ping pong, with my eye going back and forth to inform the whole picture. The inclusion of the camera in the shot, and the use of the mirror, also gave the feeling of being drawn into and out of the picture plane as well. None of the partial images include a full shot of the person in the photo, so it also felt like a mix between hide-and-seek and peekaboo. But something in the expression of the photographer and the fact that it was black and white kept taking me out of the realm of play, and kept hinting at the possibility of something a bit more sinister at play.

Ooooh, intriguing! Did it bring to mind something in particular?

It made me think of so many things very quickly. It made me recall the three-mirrored medicine cabinet in my childhood bathroom. When the two outside doors opened fully, I could close my head inside to form a triangle of mirrors, which made infinite kaleidoscopic reflections. I never could understand how it worked, but I knew that it felt like a special “place.” It was a way to break out of the mirror as a flat, straightforward reflection of reality. The prompt also made me think about the ways we go about presenting our identities, and how little control we have over how others see us. How a mirror can offer some of the most truthful representations of a moment, while being quite unreliable for tracking long-term changes over time. The lack of memory of reflective surfaces. Because the camera lens was visible in the prompt, it also made me think a lot about surveillance, and the inescapable prying eye of capitalism. We’re forced to live with this nearly constant barrage of all five senses to try to convince us to keep buying more crap.

I have strong feelings about that, too. So how did you get started on your response? Walk me through the process.

Right away I started scribbling notes and ideas in a mini notebook, and was all over the place. In true brainstorm form, every idea was scribbled without judgment. I read up on the 3/5 compromise for examples of the language our government has used in the past to explore ideas of personhood vs. identity. I made a list of all the types of circles that could be used to trap us: handcuffs, camera lenses and photographs, clock faces, prison door keyholes, bulletholes, etc. In that vein I also looked at prison warden contrivances like pillories, stocks, and whipping posts which could act as a means of physical and psychological impediments. I looked at cubism as a means to visually fracture human bodies. And I got sidetracked reading about how humans are born with around 300 bones that eventually fuse down to a total of around 206 bones. Then I put the notebook away and let my ideas steep for the first week.

Week two, I decided this project would use my figure as the main subject, and that I would revisit some silver/reflective costume pieces I had made for a previous project. I went shopping for some silver face makeup but left the store empty-handed after realizing how few options there were. I already had the cardboard arm pieces, and the silver booty shorts. I knew I wanted to conceal as many of my recognizable features as possible, so I made the booties and the hand mitts out of aluminum foil. I set up my webcam, wrapped my whole head in foil, and set about posing. I wanted the poses to feel somewhat formal, like my figure could be an objet d'art that an AI overlord could fetishize or purchase to decorate their home in the early post-human days. I initially thought my submission would be a still photo or a triptych, but after sifting through the material, I settled on a gif. It felt appropriate because they go on and on forever and offer the viewer a chance to keep their eyes moving, similar to the experience I had with the initial prompt.

You work in all sorts of different mediums. How does this piece relate to the rest of your work?

I think of every image captured by my webcam as a form of “robotlove”. Most of the images are very straightforward and used for figure drawing practice, or to help rough out compositions for drawings and paintings. But I'm also curious about exploring the possibility of becoming more and more metallic over time or developing a character that is almost totally silver. I played a bit with this idea for my previous Bait/Switch submission too, pushing representations of human forms as close to the line of oblivion as possible.

Oh that’s true. It was barely recognizable.

I'm over 40 now, and I’m starting to explore and enjoy a real sense of invisibility. This project was a nice way to play with dissolving a sense of ego and identity, to explore the possibilities of presenting as: nobody, no body, somebody, some body, only body, onlybody. I am looking forward to how some of these images and ideas make their way into my painting and printmaking practice.

Wow, I’m looking forward to seeing where else this takes you! I think it’s really interesting that you don't get involved much with social media or personal tech, yet you recorded yourself as this sci-fi character.

Without naming names, social media is THE WORST. I try to keep just the minimum of an account going for my business – it seems to lend an air of legitimacy to my efforts – but overall, the landscape over there feels pretty bankrupt. My new scrolling rule is to close the app as soon as I see an ad, which is lovely, because it usually only means I get about three posts in before pulling back into the IRL world.

You even hang out in the woods, don’t you?

Yes! Give me time in the woods, with birds, trees, slime molds, fungi, lichens, and leaves any day over anything that requires a charger. I want to always approach life at the speed of poetry, instead of various marketable bandwidths.

The Romantic Luddite side of me says, “Break all tech! If you're not breaking tech, you are part of the problem!” But I understand this stance is an oversimplification, and not exactly feasible on a global scale. I do think it's important to pause and investigate the power systems and structures at play within inhabitable spaces. Even digital ones.

I'm not opposed to the idea of one day having a love affair with a robot. But I don't want to give it all up just like that. Is it too much to ask that AI should be expected to woo me at least a little? With the Silfren Bullion costume pieces, I wanted to make shells for the body that could act as camouflage or armor. To blur the lines of consent. I wanted to make an image that AI could almost recognize, but not quite understand. I wanted to play a little hard to get. I want AI to know: If you want to get with me, some assembly IS required.

You’re worth it! This is the second piece you've contributed to Bait/Switch. How was the experience different the second time around?

This time around, I felt very at ease that anything goes. I felt more confident knowing what to expect. It was easier to pace my workflow and manage my expectations for final output. For my first submission, I caught myself wondering, “Is this enough?” I have also read a lot more interviews with other participants and have really been turned on to some very exciting artists working out there!

Yes! It’s working!

This time I feel more of a sense of community and look forward even more to seeing how this piece fits into the longer story unfolding on this branch.

Is there anything else you'd like to touch on that I didn't ask for?

I hope that a degree of humor comes through in this piece, and that my interview doesn't read as a totally nutso conspiracy theorist.

[laughs] Oh I hope it does!

I had a great time working on this project and cracked myself up so many times filtering through the images and outtakes while deciding on the final choices. I did just enough research on tin foil hats beforehand to make sure this project wouldn't align Bait/Switch with any hate groups. And I learned lots about the Faraday cage, which I think is a perfect name for a robot drag queen.

It sure is! I hope she’s out there somewhere. What's your advice for newbies getting involved with this project for the first time?

Take this project seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously. Leave room for happy accidents. When in doubt, revisit your prompt. Don't be afraid to use this project to try something completely new to your studio practice. And just keep going.

Call Number: C93VA | C95VA.ceBe

Dustin Cecil lives and works in Eastern Kentucky with a variety of materials, typically connected in some way to fiber arts and traditional crafts. Naturally suspicious of technology, Dustin tries to remain open minded about the coming digital 'singularity'- while exploring what it means to still be human. He remains hopeful that self-expression through some form of needlework will endure until the end of time (at least as we know it).