Ghost Database is a case-study project focused on the ritual of coffee cup readings. The core purpose is to re-approach ceremonies as an inherited social technology capable of unlocking poetic interpretation and expression.
It unfolds in 3 parallel ever-evolving parts;
the participatory Cup Readings that generate an archive of symbols –sometimes combined with performative lectures–,
the expansion and hybridization of the archive through an AI language model,
and the materialization of the archive into a series of crafted artifacts that carry history and document tradition.
Each part suggest its own narrative on the subject:
A. The participatory Cup Reading sessions exhibit the benefits of poetic interpretation and expression. Facilitating real-time exchanges fosters a shared experience of interpreting and archiving abstract forms from coffee cups, while providing the archive of contemporary narratives.
B. The expansion and hybridization of the archive through an AI language model will work as an artificial reconstruction of lost past sessions. An attempt to summon a “ghost database”; an AI mock-archive of all those past sessions that had no outlet for documentation. Its role is to highlight the importance of it in the formation of the archive, but also to prove the pivotal importance of the access of an Outlet to the public realm.
C. The archival imagery that emerges from these processes will be materialized into artifacts known to carry history. A Mocking Museum of ceramics, mosaics, jewellery, coins, stamps, tools, costumes, tapestries and textiles, instruments, and space (re)constructions establishes the project in time and space as a tribute to the ephemeral nature of these symbolic exchanges. A Mockumentation; a speculative archive that plays with institutional authority, questioning what is preserved and what is erased.
When the session happens 1to1, there is a conversation around the subject and occasionally a recorded interview.
When the sessions happen in an event-based format, there is a Performative Lecture while the audience is drinking the coffee, prepared in the Performance.
During the reading sessions, ideograms are extracted from the interpretations and added to a growing “vocabulary” archive. Each entry includes an icon, its verbal translation, and its interpretation. In a simple way: the symbol, what it shows, and what it means.
This evolving dictionary of symbols will then be integrated into an AI Language model, which will generate new ideograms that align with the style of the existing archive.
The AI-generated ideograms will form the “ghost database,” serving as a tribute to the parts of history that were never documented, existing in the shadows of dominant narratives.
When sufficient data are collected and created, the project will move to its last part.
The archival imagery that emerges from this process will be materialized into artifacts known to carry history.
The series of artifacts will be presented as an Mocking Museum exhibition.
Potential aritfacts:
- ceramics
- mosaics
- tiles
- jewellery
- coins
- stamps
- tools
- accessories
- tattoo art
- costumes
- tapestries
- instruments
- space (re)constructions
Related events
Upcoming
23 May 2025 | Group Show @ HAUNT Gallery. Performance date and more info TBA
26 - 28 June 2025 | Performance
100° Diaspora during Performance Exiles
at Berliner Festspiele
More TBA
Past
CASTING A SPELL IN COMPUTATIONAL REGIMES
Ritual Practices for a Trans-Feminist Counter-Apocalypse
curated by Arianna Forte
Opening: October 12, 2024, 6 – 9 pm
Exhibition: October 15-19, 2024, 2 – 7 pm
My Event: October 17, 2024, 5 – 6 pm
// Perfomative Lecture //
"Spells for Beginners: Summoning a Ghost Database"
17.10.2024 @ 17:00
at
SomoS Gallery, Kottbusser Damm 95, 10967 Berlin
Public Transport: U8 Schönleinstrasse
On Thursday, 17 October 2024, 5 p.m. SomoS presents
Spells for Beginners: Summoning a Ghost Database, a performative lecture by multidisciplinary artist Theemetra Harizani.
The event takes place in the context of the exhibition Casting a Spell in Computational Regimes, exploring the convergence of digital technologies, ritual practices, and trans-feminist resistance.
Spells for Beginners offers a journey into the art of creative communication through the ritual of coffee cup readings; a practice deeply rooted in the everyday traditions of working-class women.
Participants are invited to engage in this shared experience, interpreting abstract forms and developing a symbolic language that weaves together personal and collective unconscious perspectives.
Through this intimate ritual, attendees will actively contribute to the formation of a “Ghost Database,” a growing digital archive that preserves forgotten idioms and symbols. This communal act serves as both a revival of overlooked narratives and an exploration of deeper connections through ceremonial and poetic expression.
