Project Space "Osculum Infame"
PST
June 1st – July 7th 2007.

“Osculum infame is the name of a witch’s supposed ritual greeting upon meeting with the Devil. The name means The Shameful Kiss, or The Kiss of Shame since it involved kissing the devil's backside, his other mouth.” –Wikipedia.org

The centerpiece of “Osculum Infame” are a series of “blood contracts.” Each contract is drawn and written using the artist’s blood and decorated with culturally abject materials, such as children’s stickers, glitter, etc. These contracts offer a bargain between the viewer (and perhaps ultimately, purchaser) of the works and a series of demons taken from Dungeons and Dragon’s Monster Manuals: Asmodeus, Baalzebul and Baphomet. Short hand-written descriptions and drawing portraits of each demon, taken directly from the Monster Manuals, accompany each contract.
Each contract offers the beneficiary temporary endowment of a psychologically plausible demonic power (e.g., “enhanced powers of suggestion,” “insatiable sexual stamina,” etc.). In exchange, the beneficiary must agree to take specific actions which demonstrate willing subordination to their demonic causes, such as telling lies, acts of perfidy, etc.
These demonic contracts are placed before an altarpiece of candles and horns that allude specifically to the traditional Occultist deity Baphomet, especially as depicted in Eliphas Lévi's 1854 treatise, “Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie” and its subsequent derivations. As Levi states, the figure “expresses the perfect harmony of mercy with justice. The flame of intelligence shining between his horns is the magic light of the universal balance, the image of the soul elevated above matter, as the flame, whilst being tied to matter, shines above it. The beast's head expresses the horror of the sinner, whose materially acting, solely responsible part has to bear the punishment exclusively; because the soul is insensitive according to its nature and can only suffer when it materializes.” Thus symbolized, these altarpieces frame the role of sin in physical suffering as a question of transcendence.
            As an installation, the scorched soil floor and candle-lit space is meant to seal visitors within a space of “self-deceit” which simultaneously conjures the lighthearted make-believe of role-playing and the serious real-world pathology of various personality disorders as drawn from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) series of sourcebooks. These include, for instance, Narcissistic, Obsessive-Compulsive, Antisocial, Histrionic, Borderline and a litany of other associated disorders. Reinforcing the distinction between in and outside are the pair of “dimensional guardians” in the form of two taxidermied baboons stationed outside the project room door. Once inside, confronted only with natural light, rather, visitors experience an elective confrontation with their own inner limits. Act out of faith or falsehood? Lies and joy or truth and a deadly anguish? At hazard is the fundamental lie of human character upon which we depend in facing the day-to-day horrors of human existence. As an installation, “Osculum Infame” invites questions as to the darker mechanics of the creative imagination, its role in the achievement of “justified true belief,” and the necessity of duplicity for self-knowledge. It’s in these subjects that we find the answer to the age-old question: “On what do our lives depend?”

About the Artist

PST is an acronym for post/send/tell, the most common forms of communication in massively multiplayer online gaming environments. PST’s embodied identity is encoded in the DNA sequences of the blood-written language of the contracts themselves. Yet that identity may never be known. As a disembodied voice, the artist is freed in this series to play the role of arbiter between the contract demons and the viewer, a role which echoes that of a scriptural Lucifer represented at once as both defender and prosecutor of human beings to their Creator. Alternatively, this may be read as playing the role of “dungeon master” between antagonist demons borrowed from Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manuals and the viewer, an accidental player in this fantasy-gaming inspired exhibition.

PST makes art of and about role-playing and video games.