Arcade : Deus ex Machina

This article is an extract from the Black Dog Publishing book, Arcade. Reprinted with kind permission of the publisher and author. The article offers an interesting perspective on the development of the works, TDS and The Debating Society.

What must I be, I who think and who am my thought, in order to be what I do not think, in order for my thought to be what I am not?

Foucault’s treatment of Descartes' "cogito ergo sum" suggests that once the 'I' is established, there are to be more questions than answers. For Cotterrell, the establishment of a forum in which non-humans are allowed the luxury of thought-based language is an intriguing possibility.

Cotterrell’s practice finds interest in both the nature and mechanics of intelligence. Illusions of intelligence reflect back on themselves as each computer attempts discussion with one or more of the others–the disturbing, hyper-real image caught by a lens filming a monitor reveals the limitations of this closed system. This is perhaps an inevitable feedback loop, but equally, this is an introduction to new possibilities.

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