| EK-wee-taws justice, fairness | Aequitas |
THE AEQUITAS BLURB
[Who We Are]
Aequitas is currently the playground for two U.S. artists whose practice involves equality, and anonymity as a working ideal. Collaborating in separate physical space they have explored themes such as alienation, childhood, perceptions of identity, spirituality, and consumerism with most of the work being first presented in the virtual world of Second Life.
Each piece they work on is an entire journey. It begins as an evolution of an idea that passes through many incarnations before it reaches the final stage. Each piece often has a massive body of work that maps their progress -- they spend a lot of time researching, looking for relevant information on the web or in books and papers, seeking out inspiration, conducting interviews and finding references -- documenting their finds as well as writing out their own perspectives and views on the material.
The results of this process oriented work have veered between the abstract and illustrative. The key threads are a strong aesthetic with a core spiritual disposition that focuses on non dualism and ideas of equity and balance. There is a sense of the nostalgic and ironic to the more representational work which avoids jokiness and schmaltz. The abstract leans toward iconic minimalist; white cubes or columns enhanced with minimal scripting and the use of single words or symbols. The cartoon-like nature which pervades virtual worlds is offset by simple texture selection and careful lighting.
By working under a singular identity as Aequitas, the intention is to direct focus on the art rather than the individual; to remain outside the cult of personality, to explore alternatives to the more culturally accepted individual creative force. They believe collaboration does not require leadership and can bring better results through decentralization and egalitarianism. It is a working practice that art collaboration should be playful and not taken too seriously.
[What We Did]
Aequitas has been involved in many projects not the least of which are listed below.
Ghost Story at Cybertopia 10/08
"LIFE IS A BOWL OF ...." 4th Caerleon Isle Artists Collaboration. 12/08
No Man is an Island, Arena at Uqbar 01/09
Consume, Caerleon Isle Artists Collaboration, 0609
Aequitas rl/sl childhood exhibition. 06,07/09
Networked Collaboration Collaboration
“It isn’t that we consider biological information privileged; we consider it irrelevant to how we want our work to be seen,” “We keep our staff anonymous not out of a distrust in celebrity, which proves useful, but out of a distrust in biography, which is not.”
download images, 54mb zip file
