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SUPERFLEX / TOOLS / SUPERGASBjørnstjerne Christiansen, visual artistJakob Fenger, visual artistRasmus Nielsen, visual artistThe three members of Superflex look at their worksas tools. These tools are considered as invitationsrather than representations; invitations that call forparticipation and continuation. The tools representmodels that are being used by different persons orgroups. They are not “alternatives” but are continuationsand show real behaviour patterns. The toolsare based on a specific interest in social and economiccommitment. The starting point for creating atool is a belief in a heterogeneous, complex society.The set-up is developed in co-operation with diverseexperts who, in turn, add their own specific interests.It can then be taken over and put into operationby various users. The tools invite people to do something;to become active. Tools are framed by andshaped in specific social and local situations andgenerate their meanings out of this specific context.Through the tools we investigate communicativeprocesses in which power, hegemony, assertion andoppression, the gain and loss of terrain, becomeevident. Various parties, individuals or groups, enterthe scene with strong personal and specific interests.They constantly influence how the tool is constructedand/or used. The set-up structures can be redefinedby users, which can finally lead to changes in the toolitself. The resulting scenarios, a constantly changingsuccession of possibilities and meanings, are thencontinued as long as interest remains alive. The useof the tools mirrors the contradictions and contentionsof the users and their commitment in economic,cultural and political discourses. When we assemblenot only the project and development team, but alsothe users, we take into account the specific interestsof individual groups, their different opportunities forarticulation, their interests and projections. All toolsshare the aspect of empowerment. For example, havingyour own energy supply, becoming an independentproducer of energy, having your own channel orjoining a political/economic discussion. Taken in thissense, artistic praxis means a concrete cultural interventionthat mediates between different interests orat least, makes them visible. In our tools we attemptto create conditions for the production of new waysof thinking, acting, speaking and imagining.SupergasSuperflex has collaborated with Danish and Africanengineers to construct a simple, portable biogasunit that can produce sufficient gas for the cookingand lighting needs of an African family. The systemhas been adapted to meet the efficiency and styledemands of a modern African consumer. It is intendedto match the needs and economic resourcesthat we believe exist in small-scale economies. “Theorange biogas plant” produces biogas from organicmaterials, such as human and animal stools. For amodest sum, an African family will be able to buysuch a biogas system and achieve self-sufficiencyin energy. It produces approx. 4 cubic meters ofgas per day from the dung from 2-3 cattle. This isenough for a family of 8-10 members for cookingpurposes and to run one gas lamp in the evening.34 35SUPERFLEX / TOOLS / SUPERGAS / USER / MASAWA FAMILY, 1997