Despina Kapetanki: On paradise circus and unveiled visions

This introductory interaction between the human and the non-human opens up an interesting refection on the role of technology in the expansion of human consciousness and on the eter- nal question on what consciousness really is and whether non-humans are conscious beings. In traditional Western thinking we are conditioned to believe that only humans have conscious- ness, while in most indigenous cultures, an animist understanding of the world acknowledg- es that all things are diferent expressions of consciousness. Furthermore, plants and other non-human entities (mushrooms, toads, cacti and other) that when consumed (in very specifc and respected rituals, under the guidance of shamans and other spiritual guides) induce an hallucinogenic efect on human, are considered gods and higher forms of consciousness. Could A.I., as well, represent a new form of consciousness in the universe and could it become a guide to the expansion of our own consciousness?

As the voice of the A.I. disappears, the rhythm of a heartbeat takes its sonorous space, en- gulfng us in the inner body. The performer is now lying down on the foor, shaking her body in contact with the foor and her limbs slightly lifted in the air.
 The heartbeat transforms into the sound of an underwater world of mufed bubbles, and the performer is foating and drifting towards the back of the stage, until she becomes stranded on the back wall, a shipwreck washed ashore by the waves, red and blue lights shining on our path beyond the veil.

In esoteric practices like the Tarot, water represents the emotional side of the psyche and by diving into the pool of the unconscious we leave the rational mind to face our irrational fears, uncontrolled emotions and deepest terrors. The prepared initiate of the psychedelic experience wouldn’t be discouraged to continue their journey into the unconscious, but for the unprepared these energies are too great to face without the protection of the rational mind.
For this purpose, Timothy Leary lays out a detailed description of how to prepare and undergo the psychedelic experience, in order not to be intimidated by the unveiling of what hides be- yond the personality.

The performer disappears behind the scene and reappears wearing a mask that reminds me of the flm by Pitof “Dark Portals: The Chronicles of Vidocq”. In this 2001 mystery flm the inves- tigator Eugène Vidocq pursues an assassin who wears a mirrored mask which has the power to trap the souls of his victims.
She comes very close to the audience and I observe the refection of myself along with the rest of the audience in the mirrored mask. The lights are changing fast, almost at a stroboscopic pace, creating a frenetic vibration, a fickering of my own refection, a faring of my own image, perhaps hinting at the volatility of my identity, self-image and “beloved personality” that we are asked to leave at the gate of the psychedelic voyage.

“In traditional Western thinking we are conditioned to believe that only humans have consciousness”