Normally I am averse to writing things down like this, to confining my 'work' to such a limited scope, to explaining my intentions and giving reasons, but in this case I think some comment is necessary and perhaps even welcome. I will probably never do this again.
I studied abroad at Goldsmiths College in London, England from September 2008 to March 2009. While there, I was in the Art Practise program. I was given a studio and told when I was scheduled to present my work. There was only one 'class' that met and it was just once a week for two hours. Outside of this I had no instruction. With this freedom I decided to reject all the 'art' I had been making in the recent past, to reject everything I saw everyone else doing at school and in museums, and to try to move in a 'different direction', as some might say.
It was my desire for this work to be absolutely irrelevant to my past work. If an unknowing stranger approached these projects I did not want them to be able to attach an instant 'Paul Habeeb' label to it. Since the work was to be different in this way, it seemed appropriate to create a persona for myself. I decided I was to be what I saw as the opposite of what today's 'art' wants to be (but also how it seems to function so very often): I was to be an analyst — cold, impartial, and purely concerned with data. Analysis would be my 'working method'. I was to take a look at something, be it a person, an idea, or an object, learn everything I could about it as impartially as possible, deconstruct the information, and output some sort of creation primarily based on the information. There would be an intense skepticism of anything 'art-related' inherent in anything I was to create.
So, I enacted the plan. I called anything I created an 'exam', talked about 'research', and presented the information I was coming across in a way that was plain and lacking in any sort of 'human' aspect. Everything I created existed digitally, as an exam or a report might. I also took on the outward appearance of an analyst: I wore ties and suit-coats frequently and carried a briefcase with my notes in it. I told no one but my tutor what I was doing and tried my best to defend my work based on the principles of analysis and deconstruction and simple representation of information.
My exams were primarily concerned with digital life, viz. Facebook, Skype, AIM, and Google. I chose this topic for two reasons: its incredible relevancy to life today and the similarity the technology has to such a left-brained process as analysis. It seemed logical and appropriate to approach a project regarding technology as an analyst. I posted all of my exams to this website, keeping with the digital approach.
With all this in mind, my work from the period is available to view.