Love, piracy, and the office of religious weblog expansion, 2009
Mixed media (performance, installation, online project, artists’ book) Text based on an interview with Ali Alizadeh by Mukul Patel, February 2008 Website coding: Elke Michlmayr Supported by: Arts Council England; BMUKK Austria
Love, Piracy, and the Office of Religious Weblog Expansion is the transcript of an interview with Iranian philosopher Ali Alizadeh about the history of censorship in Iran from the 1979 Revolution to the age of Google. This text is censored draconically: of the philosopher’s 1,500 word-long responses, only one word is left legible, and it is a different one that survives in each copy of the edition of 1,500. Owners of the book can undermine the censor’s efforts by sharing the unique word of text left visible in each copy. Once a word has been submitted to the website, it is permanently revealed online. The entire text will be rendered visible only if all book owners share their words online.
