The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination

The Laboratory
of Insurrectionary
Imagination
“
The more imagination is
liberated & shared, the
more useful the medium.
“
Hakim Bey - Immediatism
Important Information
WHAT A TYPICAL DAY AT
THE LAB WILL LOOK LIKE?
We all convene at 10.30am at the
RampART creative social centre
(17 Rampart street - E1 2LA) for
a scrumptious potlatch breakfast, where we all bring stuff to
share.
During the breakfast all
groups/individuals who have
proposed an action/project for
the day will brief and/or run a
workshop with the lab participants on their tactics, ideas, past
projects, etc and specifics about
the day's action.
This will be followed by a short
warm up facilitated by practitioners of SOMA, the capoeira
rooted anarchist therapy and
some rebel clowns. We will then
go and fill the streets with acts of
insurrectionary imagination.
Please note - If you wish to join
one or all of the lab events, you
need to come to the breakfast
briefing. This is so we can plan
and fine tune. It is important to
build trust between ourselves so
that we are confident in what we
do.
Also space is short so let us
know if you plan to come by
emailing : [email protected]
or calling 07910 082 234, and
leave a message.
www.labofii.net
The
Laboratory
of
Insurrectionary
Imagination (Lab of ii) is bringing together
creative activists, interventionists, tactical
media makers, pranksters and everyone
whose activities fall in between the spaces of
culture and politics.
At the root of the Lab of ii are both an intense
sense of disgust and rebellion against a system which prioritises money over life and a
desire to go beyond traditional tools of resistance. In the face of sadness and destruction,
we want to resist creatively and joyfully, and
reclaim the spaces that have been colonised
by consumerism and neoliberalism.
Because there are as many ways of going
about this project as there are imaginations,
the Lab aims to be a convivial self-organised
space of exchange and reciprocity, where we
can skill share and debate through a series of
practice-led actions and workshops.
how to make the best use of the Lab
As a self-organised space, the Lab will only be what we collectively
make it. In order for it to be an inspiring and enriching experience for
all, here are some guidelines
-The lab is a space for sharing, exchanging, discussing, understanding,
not judging
- Respect each other's ideas and the ramART space.
- Get involved, participate, experiment
- Allow yourself and others to "fail"
- Respect consensus decision making principles
- During actions, find a space where you are comfortable and push
yourself from there
- Only do what you feel comfortable doing, i.e. it is OK to pull out if it
gets too much
- Take responsibilities for your own decisions and actions
- Look out for each other, especially on actions
- Avoid doing whatever might jeopardise an action or, more importantly, the safety of others during an action
NB: If you get arrested : 1. Keep calm and cool when you are arrested.
2. Call sympathetic solicitor Andrew Katzen 07973839245 3. Never
make a statement (You have to give the police your name, address and
date of birth. They also have the right to take your fingerprints, photo
and non-intimate body samples. The Criminal Justice and Public Order
Act 1994 has removed the "right to silence". All this means is that the
police/prosecution can point out your refusal to speak to them, when
the case comes to court, and the court may take this as evidence of
your guilt. The police cannot force you to speak or to give a statement,
whatever they may say to you in the station. Refusing to speak cannot
be used to convict you by itself).
Temporary AFFINITY GROUPS
Upon arriving at the Lab you will be allocated a temporary affinity group for
the day. This is to both enable the actions to be as fluid, self organised, leaderless and safe as possible and to facilitate the process of networking and
sharing that is at the heart of the lab. The actions will involve groups dispersing, clustering or all converging.
Each group should have a mobile phone, a delegate for bigger group feed
back, someone with knowledge of London and a scout.
FRIDAY
Experimental subject: The Square Mile/ East End
1.30
Pay Back, part 1 - Chris Graham
Chris Graham expresses his negativity towards capitalist modes of production and consumption by demonstrating the
art of eating and shitting money. Part 1 - The consumption.
www.cgraham.net
1.40
Cup and Mouth - Save Our Starbucks (S.O.S)
Starbucks has just stepped up their crack down on those who disagree with their vision of uniform sanitised cities, where
creativity simply consists of adding caramel syrup to a decaf skinny latte. They already have political prankster Reverend
Billy banned from every Starbucks coffee shop in the world, they are now trying to take the domain name www.starbuckscoffee.co.uk off the Vacuum Cleaner. The website shows how armed with a green pen anyone can transform the logo
to read "Fuck Off". Starbucks says it "tarnishes" their brand and "goodwill". Cup and mouth is an act of solidarity for all those
being told to shut up by corporations.
www.starbuckscoffee.co.uk
Unreality TV
2.30
3.15
Do not be passively observed by our
Defacing something illegally stuck to a wall theoretically is not illegal.
Dedomenici invites participants to help him paint the
town.
surveillance society, be an active actor
in your own movie. Reject anonymous
life and expand to the dimensions of
cinema life each time you walk down
your local high street.Unreality TV
organises and encourages actions/performances designed to amuse, bemuse,
and confuse those who watch over us!
www.rupture.co.uk/unrealitytv
5.00
The Big Flyposter Draw- Richard Dedomenici
Important Information for all Tourists of London
The Institute of Nomadology
We kindly request your attention concerning
a new legislation on tourists. The new law,
implemented by the authorities of London
from the beginning of Oct. 2004, says that all
foreigners who can not truly identify themselves as tourists will be deported to north
African camps in order to do social work
with rejected African asylum seekers.
www.nomadology-institute.org
and
An Introduction to the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA)
The Marquee, Middlesex University, Tottenham campus, White Hart Lane, N17
The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA) is looking for fools and rebels, radicals and rascals, tricksters and
traitors, mutineers and malcontents to join its ranks.
You could be part of a fighting force armed with ruthless love and fully trained in the ancient art of clowning and nonviolent direct action. You could learn ingeniously stupid tactics that baffle the powerful. You could uncover your inner
clown and discover the subversive freedom of fooling.The workshop will be a training taster for all potential recruits.
www.clownarmy.org
6.00
Free Public Transport - Planka
In Stockholm, Gothenburg and Helsinki commuters are taking the initiative in public transport. Buses, trams, commuter
trains and subways are necessary for us to get around in society. Public transport should be like the sidewalk - paid by all,
free to walk on. It would be as absurd to charge for it, as is charging for public transport.
United we stand strong! "P-kassan" - the free riding insurance - is a cooperation between people in similar situations. You
pay a small amount to the fund and if you get caught freeriding your bill is paid. During the workshop held on the tube we
will share our experiences with the planka.nu (freeride.now) campaign. We believe that our experiences are universal and
applicable to almost all European cities. We hope to spread the practice of free riding insurance, and the idea of creating
urban commons.
www.planka.nu
En Route Actions - To be enacted at any time during transit
Transformation - The Third Tier of the Center for
Tactical Magic’s Free Occult Services Project
A DIY curse for channelling anti-globalist
and anti-authority forces into action
against corporations, institutions, and
other appropriate targets. Linking modern graffiti techniques with the ancient
practice of affixing curses to the property
of one's foe.
7.30
Beer Can Orchestra - Jim Dunkley
The beercan symphony expresses love of the liquid musically and protesting the encroachment of non-drinking areas
in public space. Please bring your own beer can (or two).
Screening of Imaginative Insurrection
Indymedia Space @ The Camden Centre. A
Screening of works from those in the lab.
Followed by Mark Thomas.
7.00
Afternoon Tea, theory and TACTICS
A space for reflecting on the days actions and enquiring into the
nature of language, and the art of dissemination/description
used and refused by insurrectionary imaginations.
saturday
Experimental subject: The West End
1.30 and running throughout the day
Multinational Corporate Games - Space Hijackers
The Space Hijakers invite you to participate in numerous disciplines at the Multinational Corporate Games, including :
Find the Gap (Urban Sardines), Starbucks musical chairs, McDonalds Bingo and Nike British Bulldog.
www.spacehijackers.org
1.30
Department Store Sells Trash – Wonder
Perfectly sound products found in
London trash will make their way
back onto the shelves to be sold as
new. 15 participants are invited to
some reverse stealing by pricing
the parasitic products and smuggling them into the store system.
www.bewonder.nl
and
Urban Decoy – My Dads Strip Club
2.30
Death of the product
CityZen
Have you ever heard of the madman
who, on a bright morning, lit a
lantern and ran to the market-place
calling out unceasingly: "I seek The
Product! I seek The Product!" As
there were many people standing
about who did not believe in The
Product, he caused a great deal of
amusement. Why? Is he lost? said
one. Has he strayed away like a
child? said another. Or does he keep
himself hidden? Is he afraid of us?
Has he taken a sea voyage? Has he
emigrated? - the people cried out
laughingly, all in a hubbub.
Join My Dads Strip
Club to play Urban
Decoy a team game
for up to 30 players.
There are no rules
here. No formulas
Have fun, experiment, toy with a look
that borders on dangerous. Our only
request - go for
broke, not for average. You are no
ordinary beauty.
www.mydadsstripclub.com
3.00
Taking Liberties – The Vacuum Cleaner
With a religious swing to consumerism, what
could be more pleasurable than the praise and
worship of the product, brand and cathedral of
consumption? Join the vacuum cleaner in engulfing yourself with desire. Shopping is the new religion - praying to products is the next logical step.
4.30
www.thevacuumcleaner.co.uk
Because You Can't Buy Happiness - Yomango
YOMANGO is a brand name. Mango is a popular
Spanish clothing chain, now spreading all over
Europe. YOMANGO, in Spanish slang means
something like 'I love shoplifting', which like all
other major brand names is not so much about
selling concrete stuff, but more about promoting
a lifestyle.
In this case, the YOMANGO lifestyle - shoplifting
as a form of social disobedience and direct action
against multinational corporations having a really good time!
www.yomango.net
7.00
Afternoon Tea, theory and TACTICS
A space for reflecting on the
days actions and enquiring
into the viral co-optations of
and co-operations between
insurrectionary imaginations.
En Route Actions - To be enacted at any time during transit
Escalated – Richard Dedomenici
Richard Dedomenici invites
approximately 40 participants to
engage in a non-disruptive anarcho-surrealist intervention on
the London Underground.
“
Underground subvertising – Saher
SamAan
We will try to give away a little
more than insurance and cheap
phonecalls to the unsuspecting
London commuter, and if we
can, make them smile!
Shocking, funny or smelly a new
ad trend in the making!
Rebellion is at the same time a
rejection of all that which inhibits
and destroys ones creative capacity, and the process of discovering
what a creative existence might
mean.
Max Blechman -Drunken Boat 2
“
SUNDAY
Experimental subject: Top Secret
Look for corporate climbing frames and
have some hedge fun. Experiment with
architecture that can be climbed,
jumped over and played with. Try getting a handhold on the Natwest tower
or a leg up onto the Lloyd's building, it
makes sense to be shit scared while
interacting with your bank. Manage
and minimise risk, listen to your fear
and move accordingly. Frolic and gambol along facades and up raised walkways. We'll take risks, grabbing
responsibility for our own physical safety back from the realms of "Health and
Safety" into our own sweaty palms.
Subvertising – Do Summat
A fully practical crash course to subvertising corporate
advertising. Scout for potential targets. Come armed
with ideas, 2 litre plastic bottles and brushes - Subvert
the corporate bullshit and shape your environment.
anarchist golf - People’s golfing association
www.dosummat.org.uk
Happening simultaneously
Risk - Urban climbing
12.30
Do some urban climbing in the City.
The first
Peoples'
Golfing
Association's gathering before the
Peoples' Open Golfing Tournament
during the G8 summit. Professional
golfing instructors will be on hand to
offer free golfing tips ("keep your
eyes on the ball!") in the streets of
London
www.tao.ca/~wrench/dist/g8/pga.html
2.30
March for Capitalism – Northern Arts Tactical Offensive (NATO)
CRAP (Capitalism Represents Acceptable
Policy) is a society that works on a grassroots
level to further the cause of capitalism, selfishness and corporate greed above all else. During
the ESF, CRAP plans to usurp their liberal lefty
party by organising our biggest pro-capitalist
march to date and taking to the streets to show
the world that putting profits before people is
truly the only genuine way forward for all
civilised nations to proceed.
www.nato.uk.net
4.00
En Route Actions - To be enacted at any time during transit
Underground subvertising – Saher Samaan
We will try to give away a little more
than insurance and cheap phonecalls
to the unsuspecting London commuter, and if we can, make them
smile! Shocking, funny or smelly a
new ad trend in the making!
Feast of the Insurrectionary Imagination
The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army
(CIRCA), Chris Graham and guests
An open invitation to celebrate the
end of the European Social Forum
with a sumptuous Feast of
Insurrectionary Imagination involving
the undercover infiltration of the
eatery most coveted by clowns.
During the festivities Chris Graham
will present Pay Back part 2.
“
The revolution, in general, is no longer imagined according to socialist patterns of realism,
that is, as men and women stoically marching
behind a red, waving flag towards a luminous
future. rather it has become a sort of carnival.
“
Subcomandante Marcos