The Secret Pope is a video homage to Pope Joan, considered fictional in today’s society, but a beloved story during the middle ages of a female pope that rose through the ranks of Christianity with her wit and skill. Pope Joan dressed in men’s clothes, but was discovered as a woman when she became pregnant. After she was discovered body examinations practices were put in place so that no women could rise to power in Christianity ever again. Gaze upon her as into a mirror, the Secret Pope is all of us.
I embody Pope Joan in secret, secluded in the forest of Pennsylvania–in the backyard of the Appalachian Research Laboratory, in the desert of Census Designated Zone Bombay Beach, in the decommissioned military facility at Montauk under the strained groanings of America’s very first Radar array and above the bunker where US military tried to tap into Soviet minds via LSD, unknown to anyone, projected and replayed as a video, her spirit carried through the ether and electronic screen, hoping to bring back her legacy once more.
This iteration of The Secret Pope is an altar, a space for communion. Stand on the sacred platform and let the good vibes flow through your roots to your crown. Hear the incantations of the Secret Pope come from above you in directional bliss. Gaze upon her as into a mirror, the Secret Pope is all of us.
In honour of the opening on Sept 11 on Governor’s Island, the Secret Pope is transitioning to her next iteration in the Cybersphere. The Secret Pope as seen by Abraham.ai She exists as a single edition NFT at this address https://www.hicetnunc.xyz/objkt/287680 contact the artist at m a r y s g h o s t @ g m a i l . c o m if you’re interested in participating in a burn ceremony on Oct 31.
The Workings of Media [Art and Artists] is a series of presentations, workshops, open studios and exhibitions to understand social and cultural changes reflected through the lens of art and artists. Curator and director Carol Parkinson has selected these artists because of their use of the new media technology including data sonification and visualization, immersive sound, smell and social networks. The Art and Technology program is a component of our Creative Residency and Sponsored Projects programs and seeks to create a responsive public context for the appreciation of new work and to advance the art’s community and the public’s appreciation of the use of technology in art.
https://www.yuditskaya.com/movingimage/secretpope
Sofy Yuditskaya (@_the_s0urce_) is a site-specific media artist and educator working with sound, video, interactivity, projections, code, paper, and salvaged material. Her work focuses on techno-occult rituals, street performance, and participatory art. Sofy’s performances enact and reframe hegemonies, she works with materials that exemplify our deep entanglement with petro-culture and technology’s affect on consciousness. She has worked on projects at Eyebeam, 3LD, the Netherlands Institute voor Media Kunst, Steim, ARS Electronica, Games for Learning Institute, The Guggenheim (NYC), The National Mall and has taught at GAFFTA, MoMA, NYU, Srishti, and the Rubin Museum. She is a PhD Candidate in Audio-Visual Composition at NYU GSAS.
Find out more at:
yuditskaya.com
Insta: @_the_s0urce_
