Readiness: Civil War, 2022

Kostis Stafylakis & Theo Triantafyllidis

HD Video

Duration 16:35min

Readiness: Civil War (2022) is the latest episode in the Readiness SAGA, a serialized simulation of social conflict in the US. Kostis Stafylakis and Theo Triantafyllidis -alongside a shifting synthesis of collaborators- tailor real and fictional identities and scenarios to a fantasy world made of colorful salvage. By fore-playing the pending scenarios of an American Civil War, the Readiness SAGA forecasted situations that awkwardly resemble the dramatic January 2021 incidents at the American Capitol. The Readiness SAGA narrates a conflict between the “Preppers” (doomsday enthusiasts who marshal for the “end of the world as we know it”), the “Boogaloo Bois” (Civil War accelerationists, flexing tactical gear and Hawaiian shirts), and the “Golden Horde” (the alleged criminal horde of the unprepared citizens featured in preppers’ jargon and literature).  

In Readiness: Civil War, the machinic vision of an AI called Pascale processes filmed footage showing an unknown group roleplaying an epic battle between three clans: the Preppers, the Golden Horde, and the Boogaloo Bois. This footage was filmed during a chamber Live Action Role-Playing session (Readiness the LARP) that took place in Athens (October 2020), a few months prior to the attack on the American Capitol. According to the narrative reconstructed by the AI, the Preppers try to develop a fungus that can kill the villainous Golden Horde. The Preppers’ world is ruled by a mysterious Oracle who reigns alongside a sacred figure called Jeso. The Preppers have imprisoned Batu, the leader of the Golden Horde. The Golden Horde attacks to free Batu, loot weapons, steal tools. But the mischievous Boogaloo Bois have different plans… 

Readiness: Civil War was realized with the participation of Vasilis Bakalis, Stathis Chalkias, Alexis Fidetzis, Sotiris Fokeas, Christos Fousekis, Marilia Kaisar, Kosmas Kosmopoulos, Markella Ksilogiannopoulou, Anna Samara, Lia Smaragda, Kostis Stafylakis, Theo Triantafyllidis, Savvas Tsimouris, Vassilis Vlastaras, Poka-Yio.

Editing: Chris Bourelias

Readiness: Civil War is powered by Onassis Culture.

Mutants of Readiness, 2020

Kostis Stafyllakis & Theo Triantafyllidis Feat. Joshua Citarella

Interactive Live Stream Performance

Performed Live on 20 December 2020

Watch the performance here

In MUTANTS OF READINESS, two preppers, PIGGO and GUSTAVE, have found shelter in an egg-shaped homestead, stored at a deserted corporate building. The bootleg microchips on their foreheads happen to be gateways for an Artificial Intelligence that has overpowered them and enrolled their mutation. They’re taken over by PASCALE, an unbound singularity that announces random ascertainments. PIGGO looks like a human pig on steroids, and GUSTAVE resembles a seductive feline. Guided by PASCALE, the mutants equip the Egg, employ security policies, and train to recognize their foes. They receive a transmission by a JAUSH (impersonated by American artist and author Joshua Citarella) who trains them in warfare and evaluates their level of security and preparedness. 

Readiness: The LARP, 2020
Live Action Role Playing Game
Duration: 3 Days

By Kostis Stafylakis, Theo Triantafyllidis & Alexis Fidetzis

With: Vasilis Bakalis, Stathis Chalkias, Sotiris Fokeas, Christos Fousekis, Marilia Kaisar, Kosmas Kosmopoulos, Markella Ksilogiannopoulou, Anna Samara, Lia Smaragda, Savvas Tsimouris, Vassilis Vlastaras, Poka-Yio

Μovement Αdvisor: Maria Gorgia

Readiness : The LARP took place in Amalgrama Space, Athens, GR between 15-18 October 2020

“Readiness” is a Chamber LARP (Live Action Role Playing Game) for 8-16 Players and a Game Master that takes place inside the “Encampment”, a fictional campsite constructed by the Preppers to protect themselves against an upcoming apocalypse of mysterious origins. “Readiness” is informed by current global turmoil and the attitudes of survival, alienation and vigilance built around it. It combines elements of gaming culture, performance, and post-media art.

The LARP will play out over 4 days, including an introduction and character building workshop and 3 Acts played in real time over 3 days. Players of “Readiness” will be assigned to one of 3 Clans (Preppers, Horde, Boogaloos) and given a Character Outline, who they can further design and refine. Once the Game starts, the Players will continuously be in character and asked to respond to various challenges and achieve their goals within the given scenario. The LARP will be broadcasted as a Live Stream and recorded for further editing and exhibition.

READ THE FINAL GAME MASTER'S REPORT:

PROJECTIONS ON THE UPCOMING CIVIL WAR

Notes to Readiness, 2020

Kostis Stafylakis, Theo Triantafyllidis & Alexis Fidetzis Feat. Aliki Stenou

Interactive Live Stream Performance

Performed Live on 14 May 2020

Watch the performance here

Drawing on the reactionary cult of "preppers" (individuals and groups prepping for survival in scenarios of catastrophe and civil collapse), Kostis Stafylakis, Theo Triantafyllidis, and Alexis Fidetzis use role-play to develop a set of characters for “Readiness,” an immersive work that seeks to dissect the apocalyptic fantasies of preparedness. “Readiness” unfolds in the form of an online epic battle between a group of preppers and the Golden Horde, the rampant mass of the ‘unprepared’, in preppers’ patriotic jargon and literature. Using a tabletop play structure that extends to domestic environments, the artists produce a live stream that interacts with the YouTube audience via YouTube comments and live chatbox. In a play mode, these characters will share notes on readiness, suggest strategies of survival, and develop a sensual lexicon for our on-going confinement.

This artwork was created in the context of ENTER project, an initiative of Onassis Foundation. Onassis Stegi and Onassis USA give artists from all around the world 120 hours to create from home a series of new original commissions; sharing their new reality.