Opus IX: Abode of Chaos / Demeure du Chaos 1999-2013

France. We have gone bankrupt
several times, followed by extraordinary
successes. We already know
how to start again with just a few
euros in our pockets and how to
live simply. Money does not bring
either happiness or health. Nor is
it an act of love… but it is a fabulous
means to an end. I will always
remember what a top management
banker said to me one day. I think
it was Charles de Croisset, CEO of
Crédit Commercial de France, before
it was bought by HSBC: "You
will always succeed in life because
you have a total disregard for money".
For me, money is the sinews
of war, because I am a warrior.
Money is a fundamental resource
in warfare. Apart from that, if you
have a car crash, the emergency
medical services give you the same
treatment whether you are driving
a Ford Cortina or a Rolls Royce.
And that's why arrogance is punished.
I am always surprised when I meet
people fascinated by money. They
do not realise that money gives
very little. Of course, on a daily basis,
it removes a lot of hassle... like
paying bills. Realities with which
I am perfectly acquainted because
I have found myself unable to pay
on numerous occasions. But, contrary
to popular belief, it doesn't
bring anything extraordinary.
That's why my relationship to
money is very German Protestant
­ very "Rhine Capitalist".
L.C. - If money is just a means to an
end for you, what is the end? What is
your Great Work?
T.E. ­ In an alchemical sense, the
Great Work is to achieve immortality.
It's Fulcanelli whose disciple
found him in Seville aged 112.
L.C. - And the Abode of Chaos … is it
a new religion?
T.E. ­ Yes, it could
be a new religion. A religion
always starts in the catacombs.
Remember what Alain
Vivien's report on sects says to
the Christians… "Do not forget
that two thousand years ago, you
were a sect in the catacombs of
Rome." Why not create a new religion
right here and now? The
best buzz ­ you have to admit ­ is
Christ on the cross. And it's been
going on for 20 centuries. A guy
who gets crucified, with 12 other
guys around him at the beginning.
Excuse me, but as a viral contamination
… (laughs) Yes, there could
be a religion of chaos. Of course, at
the beginning there are three versions
of chaos: Alchemical chaos,
scientific chaos and chaos in the
sociological sense. Scientific chaos
is very interesting. The theory
of chaos raises questions about
our pride when everything seems
completely disorderly and incomprehensible.
This makes us
say that these models are chaotic
but in reality there is an underly­
ing "intelligent" model. But, we
don't have the capacity to evolve
equally. That said, when we make
an effort, we can. And that's how
all the major theories appeared in
the random fuzziness of the last
two decades, using super­calculators
that helped us to determine
the murky zones.
L.C. - Which takes me to the definition
of Chaos in the illustrated
Petit Larousse that you often quote:
"Where there seems to a confusion of
elements, there is in fact just a confusion
of the human spirit".
T.E. ­ Yes it's the confusion of human
beings continually seeking
sophisticated models.
L.C. ­ Another important aspect of
your work seems to be topography
of places. There is the Abode, the
Bunker, the containers, the dissemination
of the containers and
of the bunkers…
T.E. ­ Yes, this is close to Hakim
Bey's logic of temporary autonomous
zones and disappearance
states. The Bunker, you have to
read Paul Virilio and his book
Bunker Archeologie… to do with
enclosed spaces. I am always looking
for private atmospheres. Do
you remember the last days of
Hitler in The Fall. Almost the entire
film takes place in a bunker.
The bunker is a truly organic
closed space in which everything
is reflected. It has an extraordinary
dimension.
The container, is the weapon of
mass destruction. In 1956 a refitted
oil tanker carried fifty­eight
shipping containers from Newark
to Houston. The rise in the number
of containers in the world
since then corresponds to the
growth in world trade. The weapon
of mass destruction today… it's
that a container between Shanghai
and Le Havre costs 500 dollars to
transport 50 tons. 500 dollars, 50
tons, absolute standardisation of
the container based on ISO 668
standards. It must be able to resist
a fall of seven metres without the
slightest problem…. it can be piled
11 containers high. When you
look at the statistics, it's incredible.
And China produces between
8 and 9 hundred new containers
every day. I say PRODUCES! And a
new standard container produced
by the Chinese costs 2200 to 2300
dollars, which is incredible considering
the cost of steel by weight.
The price I pay for containers today
is below the price I would get
for the equivalent amount of steel
from a scrap metal dealer. It's pure
accounting sorcery when they pro­
duce balance sheets without adjusting
the figures to account
for raw material costs. I would
get 3000 to 4000 dollars from a
breaker! What is extraordinary
about containers is their universality…
equally useful to the army
as to medical services for examples.
A truly universal object.
L.C. - In your work there are frequent
references to war and to the warrior.
In another text, you mention a state
of permanent war…
T.E. ­ Yes but that's also in connection
with certain philosophers
including Baudrillard and
Virilio. There's a whole current
of thought about a state of
permanent war. War
is an inherent part of
our biology. Metastasis
starts as soon as you
stop fighting with your
body. For me, war is indicative
of strong life.
There are no suicides
in countries that are
at war. When I was in
Beirut in 1984, I saw
people living with all
the hassles imaginable
that war generates…
but they don't
suffer from existential
questions. There are no
432 433
more anti­depressants. In effect,
suicide looks like a 'solution' for
the rich… particularly in Northern
Europe and Scandinavia.
Everything is linked to war. The
war against yourself. When you're
an artist, you fight against inanimate
form. War… it's when you
write. It's also fighting against
fucking nuisances. Everything is
always in a state of war. It's a state
of vigilance. Ad what's more, it
has a certain sense: Since the beginning
of time, men have
fought for territories,
both material
and im­
material.
Just last night I said to Jo (at 3 or
4 in the morning) that the guys
who teach that we can do "peaceful
business" in the major universities
make me laugh. War is not
omnipresent in business, but as
soon as it becomes international
business, it's very present indeed.
That is what Clausewitz said: the
economy is the natural extension,
the continuity of war. Everything
is war, and today more than ever
with the lawyers. These are
horrible wars. We spend
our whole time
dealing
with
them… day and night. It's a constant
battle You can't get a good
night's sleep without being interrupted
by some problem. It can arrive
by fax, by bailiff's order, by
some guy who starts a class action
on the other side of the planet…
by any imaginable means. So
war comes in ritualised forms. But
I also believe that war keeps us
on our toes… vigilant. In the first
place, you have to struggle against
your own foolishness, against
your own nonchalance. Even if
you don't suffer the events, you
are still in a state of war against
them. Suffer war …or make war,
that's what it boils down to…
L.C. - And you were telling me
earlier about the link between
analogical technology
and war?
T.E. ­ The next war will involve
the I­Bomb: in other
words, total paralysis
of all semi­conductor systems,
i.e. roughly 99% of
our universe. The only surviving
instruments will be
oil lamps and all the old
primary analogue systems
that do not contain conductors
or semiconductors.
L.C. -
How does
the I-Bomb function?
We already have nuclear bombs
capable of blocking all IT systems.
T.E. ­ The I­Bomb creates an electric
shock… produces a phase differential.
The good old principle
of the electrode between the anode
and the cathode which means
that the shockwave will destroy
all computer circuitry. The only
things left working will be appliances
from the pre­computer era.
We are currently spending a fortune
buying up certain old analogical
equipment. I am proud
to have one of the last entirely
analogical electricity generators
that is in perfect working
order. All the modern models
are equipped with digital circuit
boards. Today, practically all cars
use some form of digital technology?
Uninterruptible power supplies
­ normally used to save lives
and regulate currents ­ are full
of computer technology. Before,
when a UPS started to whine, it
was bypassed, we plugged it into
the mains and it worked. This is
no longer the case because there
is an application mapping that
says "stop, danger, switch every­
manifestation