Stay inside. Close doors and windows. Consumer society and the zombie apocalypse - Publication

Edited by Iratxe Jaio y Klaas van Gorkum and published by consonni, this publication is a collection of theoretical writings, quotes and memories related to the zombiewalks that occurred in Utrecht and Barakaldo. It contains texts written by, among others, the cinema critic Jordi Costa, the philosopher Jaime Cuenca Amigo, the director of The Showroom in London Emily Pethick, the artistic director in Fundación Tapies (Barcelona) Laurence Rassel, and a comic by Maaike Hartjes. The designer of the publication is Roger Teeuwen in collaboration with Nele Vos. Distibution in Spain by Cataclismo.

Contents:

• “Stay inside. Close doors and windows” by Iratxe Jaio & Klaas van Gorkum, artists: In a critical recapitulation of their motivations for orchestrating the Overvecht and Barakaldo zombiewalks, the artists investigate the capacity of “direct action” to challenge the definition of public space as provided by the shopping mall. In this text they trace, among other things, the historical ties between today's zombie-consumer and the Situationist flaneur, who explored the city in innovative and unpredictable ways in order to bring about a new awareness of the urban landscape.
• “Sand off your rough edges please” by the sociologist and director of consonni, María Mur Dean. Her text explains the particularities of working as an art producer that invites artists to develop context specific art projects, and the particulars of this project in Barakaldo together with the artists Iratxe Jaio and Klaas van Gorkum: the stages of production, the difficulties and the alliances made to realize the project.
• “Unconscious consumption: Anatomy of Zombie Life” by the philosopher Jaime Cuenca Amigo. His text analyzes the zombie anatomy as a metaphor for the consumer, taking the Zombie Survival Guide and Zygmunt Bauman's reflections on consumerism as a starting point. The voracious, compulsive and pointless consumption of fresh meat by zombies translates as a perfect analogy to the persistent drive for novelty in consumer society.
• ”It is us who are the dead. The Living Dead as walking mirror.” by the cinema critic Jordi Costa. His text is a journey through genre cinema, reviewing the figure of the zombie as a flexible metaphor with social undertones. The political reading of the spectacle of monsrosity may have become commonplace starting with George A.Romero's movies, but the roots of the zombie archetype can be traced back even further, to films such as “J'accuse” by Abel Gance in 1938.”
• ”Let the carnival begin!” On the carnivalization of activism.
• ”Haunting the suburbs” A first hand account of the Overvecht Zombiewalk, by Emily Pethick, at the time running Casco Office for Art, Design and Theory in Utrecht, and currently director of the Showroom in London.
• ”What if...” Fragments from the lecture by Laurence Rassel on fiction as a point of reference for reality. Laurence is a cyberfeminist and artist, member of the Constant collective in Brussels and currently atistice director of Foundation Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona
• ”Monroeville Mall” On the symbolical function of the mall in George A. Romero's movie Dawn of the Dead.
• ”Pure motorised instinct” An excerpt from the scientist's tirade on TV in Dawn of the Dead.
• ”Between life and death” A reflection on the dissolution of that dichotomy by Zaloa Zabala, organizer of the Barakaldo Zombiewalk, at the time member of consonni.
• ”Megapark Barakaldo” About the changes in the municipality from an industrial era to a services oriented economy, coinciding with the inauguration of the largest shopping mall in the north of Spain.
• ”Shoppingcenter Overvecht” On the discrepancy between the ideal society envisioned by the urban planners and architects of Overvecht, and actual living conditions in the neighborhood.
• ”They are fooling you” The lyrics of a song by Eskorbuto, a musical group formed on the Left Bank of Greater Bilbao, and one of the first punk bands to write songs in Spanish.
• ”I would love to turn you on” On drugs, daily routine and free will.