Wry and provocative, the work of multidisciplinary artist Zach Blas (Post-Bac 2006) examines technologies of social control through the lens of queer and feminist politics. In recent years, his projects have addressed biometric capture, microdosing, the hegemony of the Internet, and sex toys. Blas presents a suite of these projects, including the Chicago premiere of Contra-Internet: Jubilee 2033 (2018). Using Derek Jarman’s queer punk classic Jubilee (1978) as inspiration, Blas’ film is a CGI fever dream in which Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan, and members of Rand’s Collective are transported from 1955 to a dystopian future Silicon Valley. Guided by a holographic virtual assistant, the group is confronted by Nootropix, a prophetic figure (played by the artist Cassils) who envisions new modes of connection through the end of the Internet.

2011–19, United Kingdom/United States/Germany/Denmark/Mexico, multiple formats, ca 60 minutes followed by discussion

Presented in partnership with SAIC’s Video Data Bank