21st Faith

21st Faith: Tell us about you and your
practice
Louis: Louis Schreyer is a german born
artist/designer based in London, doing
a MA in Informa- tion Experience Design
at the Royal College of Art. Working in
a range of media, he makes use of analog
photography and videography, while
exploring new ways of working with
interactive sculptures, digital realities
and emotions as well as experiences
in art. His work is socially critical
and often political, as he looks at social
behavior, the interaction of humans and
machines, as well as language. He is
interested in Surveillance, and different
means of control in popular culture.
He has exhibited in several exhibitions
in London, Berlin as well Jerusalem
in which he mainly presented photography,
sculptures and installation works.
What drew you to take part in 21st Faith?
How is faith important to you and your
practice?
As an artist, faith is essential in one’s
success. In the 21st Century there is not
much faith left, as our future has been
killed by films, capitalisms simulations
of subculture through popular culture
and the news. Our future was once going
to be one in which free love, music
and happiness ruled over war and money,
but that future was bought. In a way
the future only ever exists in the way
we talk about and therefore define it.
It never really starts, but without somebody
laying it out for us we could not envision it,
which is why Dystopian art or films
are dangerous. In order to restore faith,
we have to invent futures, we have to try to
live those futures ourselves which is where
change happens. Yet as artists we need
to embody this positive attitude towards
notions of future in our work. If not even
change our work in order to save our future
and the world from meaningless art.
I am interested in faith as a subject and was
drawn in by my good friend Rebecca who
envisioned and brought to live the project
as I had faith in her vision. A great deal
of other friends and artists had the same
faith which is why it was possible to bring
such a beautiful show and people together.
What role do you think faith will play in
the 21st century?
I think in the 21st Century as of so far Faith
has died to some degree, as our future
has collapsed. There are an infinite amount
of futures, that only ever exist in the way
we talk about, and therefore define them.
Religion used to serve the purpose control
through fear, but also ensuring faith
in the future to deal with the present.
Language allowed for this description
of heaven or hell as only possible futures
in order to guide the masses. Still today
religion has a huge impact on some people
leading them to make radical decisions
based on faith. Still Governments outdated
Religion as institutions of control, as they
installed faith in democracy and peace.
Shared narratives are means of faith based
in language. The Future has collapsed
as we have stopped being able to grasp
the present. Not knowing our destination
is eroding our path as we stumble
into the future. As markets and networks
have exceeded our understanding and their
repercussions on nature are too difficult
to judge and predict, as to define a shared
narrative to deal with the complexity
of issues in the world and their networks.
When we talk about the future, its mainly
in terms of dystopia which is only
supported by the media and film/ TV
industry. In order to restore faith in
the future, we need to invent new futures,
new paths. The way we think about the
future defines the way we act in the present
as well as the present defining the future.
Faith carries energy and can be inspiring.
Therefore faith plays a huge role in the 21.
Century. We need people to believe in
a better future in order to create it by living
and inviting it in the present!
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