To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Serpentine Marathon series, the 2015 Transformation Marathon launched a day-long broadcast of readings, talks, conversations and performances on Serpentine Radio, beginning at midnight on Sunday 18th October.
Reflecting on the transformative power of radio in the history of the 20th century, for the Transformation Marathon, Serpentine Radio invited artists, activists, musicians, writers, philosophers, poets, filmmakers and scientists to intervene in all aspects of the broadcast, including news, talk shows, time announcements and radio plays. Serpentine Radio was presented in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, London.
The Transformation Marathon – which took place at the Serpentine North Gallery from 10am–10pm on Saturday 17th October and continued on air from midnight on Sunday 18th October – invoked the hidden knowledge of magic and alchemy. It investigated the strategies of cyborgs, magicians, parasites and storytellers to consider how to represent and effect change in the face of complexity. How can the arts and sciences reimagine aesthetics and politics? How are these individual and collective actions reflective of a precarious landscape?
The Transformation Marathon was curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of International Projects; Lucia Pietroiusti, Curator, Public Programmes; Ben Vickers, Curator of Digital and Claude Adjil, Assistant Curator. The Transformation Marathon radio was produced by Tabitha Thorlu-Bangura and Cory Scozzari with Kei Kreutler and Maximilian Behrens. Graphic design by Folder (Marco Ferrari, Elisa Pasqual, Alessandro Busi, Michela Di Cristina, Aaron Gillett, Alice Longo). Curatorial Assistants: Chris Bayley, Taylor Le Melle, Sophie Oxenbridge and Nefeli Skarmea.
Before Midnight
Steven Warwick (Heatsick), Heatsick: Exclusive mix of new works
Bill Kouligas, Devoid
12–3am
Samson Kambalu in conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist
Rosi Braidotti, Language Is a Virus
Katherine Angel and Helen Hester, Technosexuals
Ayşe Gül Altınay with Nil Mutluer and Yıldız Tar, Feminist and Queer Transformations of Politics, War and Peace in Turkey
Elysia Crampton, March 5th Facebook Post
Jumana Manna, A Magical Substance by Night
Jaakko Pallasvuo and Roy Boswell, The Hunchback of South Bermondsey
William Pope.L, Klingon Talk (Attempt #2): The Colony
3–6am
Deep Lab, Erasing Borders
Nick Bostrom, Reading from Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
Lynn Hershman Leeson, Selected Excerpts from The Infinity Engine
Haunted Machines, Alchemy
Jude Crilly, Calais Bounce
CAConrad, Magenta Capstone of Apex Poetry Interviews CAConrad, with Mica Sigourney
6–9am
Alexandra Kleeman and Rachel Rose in conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist
William Pope.L, Klingon Talk (Attempt #2): The Colony
Federico Campagna with Peter Adamson, Charles Hope and Anthony Arthur Long, Neo Antiquity: Transformations of Philosophy and Poetry
Lucy Mercer with Liz Berry, Ken Cockburn, Francine Elena, Alec Finlay, Harry Gilonis, Declan Ryan and Mark Waldron, Neo Antiquity: Transformations of Philosophy and Poetry
Helen Benigson, Cashino Desert
Aram Saroyan with John Densmore, Sawing the Wood
Patrick Mudekereza
9am–1pm
Disobedient films with Jamie Perera, Climate Symphony
Jalal Toufic, An Outstanding—and Still Crazy—Task: Transforming Ourselves into Gods
Julieta Aranda, Data: Synthetic Recollections of Things that Never Happened
Julia Tcharfas and Holly White, Interspecies Communication
Sophia Al-Maria and Maurice Louca
Time Is Away, Time Is Away: Neither Created Nor Destroyed
Judy Chicago in conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist
Candice Lin, To Recognise Oneself as Parasite
Koki Tanaka, Sound of Democracy (Field Recording / September 14, 2015 / Tokyo)
Throughout the broadcast
Tim Etchells, Time Piece / Interstitials
Samson Kambalu, Why I Am so Clever
Gil Leung and Rebecca Lewin, Presenters
Lorenzo Senni