The Fiction Friction cards are made by two wanderers who spent a fair amount of time thinking about healing, witchcraft and (contemporary) witch-hunting, rituals, and Tarot culture. This approach can be seen as a way to create a ritual or a (personal) journey into a collective representation. The cards are carriers of our identities, individual past, collective memory, momentary frictions and fictions. We intended to reclaim the tarot reading ritual and reconsider the relation between the given card interpretation and the figure of the fortuneteller by reversing it. A group of players is invited to explore each card and reimagine its meaning as a collective. We are keen to see how similar or completely different experiences can be shared and new insights learned through each round of exercise. This game serves as a tool that gives to the group the possibility to write together, meet, connect, talk about unspeakable things, share, interpret or even get into conflict. Each card is a starting point, an interface for an opening, a promising healing, and a collective moment.
Fiction Friction is a tool for (hyper)textual conversations on (via) abstract/symbolic/surrealistic collage cards. We based our collaging on political events that we have experienced or have been part of our memories, mythological figures from our cultures, collective memory moments, literature that has inspired us, musical references, individuals etc. The main components of the game are a deck of illustrated cards, dice with different methods of interpretation, and an empty deck to host the new potential stories created by the players.
How to play:
The fiction friction game/tool consists of a deck of collage illustrated
cards that the players can use in three possible ways.
1\. -One player picks a card from the illustrated card deck and places it
in the middle. The card is the starting point of a collective
(hypertextual) story.
-Everyone takes an empty card.
-In turns, players throw the dice to indicate the possible methods to
write/draw/illustrate about or via the revealed card.
-At the end of the round a small story will be created out of the
interpretations of each player.
2\. -Each player picks an illustrated card and an empty card from the deck without revealing the card to others.
-The first player starts with a sentence about their card and leaves the illustrated card upside down in the middle.
-Other players continue with their sentences\' according to the card in their hands.
-The illustrated cards are shuffled and then revealed. Everybody then makes a guess and matches the card with the right sentence.
-The dice can be used to choose a method if preferred.
3\. -One player picks a card and places it in the middle.
-The player who picked the card throws the dice and interprets the card accordingly.
-The other players throw the dice in turns and continue the narrative.
# Some Gossip on gossip and what coffee has to do with it.
# Some Gossip on gossip and what coffee has to do with it.
Godsipp (God and sib (akin), godmother or godfather) was in the 12th century a word used for both men and women in fables and amongst society. The church recognized the word as well. It was used to name companions present at childbirth, just like the midwife. Sometimes, it was used to mention close friends. It represented the strong ties between women, which surpassed their relationship with their husbands. Was it witchery that strong and independent women preferred their gossip over their husbands? Well, that is something that hasn't changed since the middle ages.
Godsipp (God and sib (akin), godmother or godfather) was in the 12th century a word used for both men and women in fables and amongst society. The church recognized the word as well. It was used to name companions present at childbirth, just like the midwife. Sometimes, it was used to mention close friends. It represented the strong ties between women, which surpassed their relationship with their husbands. Was it witchery that strong and independent women preferred their gossip over their husbands? Well, that is something that hasn't changed since the middle ages.
"Godsipp" began its journey with nothing but good and emotionally strong connotations. Women bloomed and blossomed among each other and were autonomous in their existence. Men were never a part of this party women were throwing. By the 16th century, as things began to change, the traditional meaning lingered on. In 1602, the word was still used to signify female friendships. This can be seen in Samuel Rowlands's *Tis Merrie When Gossips Meete*, a satirical piece describing three London women spending hours in a tavern talking about men and marriages. It implied that 'women could create their social networks and their own social space' and stand up to male authority(Federici, 2019). Solidarity and friendship amongst women were demeaned and female-exclusive parties were banned; women who met in public were identified as "witches" and women's first duty was now to be obedient and quiet. The talk about husbands at taverns was too hurtful for the sensitive male ego that public, church and the law, forbid women to engage in "idle talk". Centuries past, the sensitive male ego remains but now is attacking to mutilate women from many resources including cyberbullying, mobbing at the workspace and many more that tie to act violently in any sort.
"Godsipp" began its journey with nothing but good and emotionally strong connotations. Women bloomed and blossomed among each other and were autonomous in their existence. Men were never a part of this party women were throwing. By the 16th century, as things began to change, the traditional meaning lingered on. In 1602, the word was still used to signify female friendships. This can be seen in Samuel Rowlands's *Tis Merrie When Gossips Meete*, a satirical piece describing three London women spending hours in a tavern talking about men and marriages. It implied that 'women could create their social networks and their own social space' and stand up to male authority(Federici, 2019). Solidarity and friendship amongst women were demeaned and female-exclusive parties were banned; women who met in public were identified as "witches" and women's first duty was now to be obedient and quiet. The talk about husbands at taverns was too hurtful for the sensitive male ego that public, church and the law, forbid women to engage in "idle talk". Centuries past, the sensitive male ego remains but now is attacking to mutilate women from many resources including cyberbullying, mobbing at the workspace and many more that tie to act violently in any sort.
@ -26,13 +26,13 @@ It was in this context that 'gossip' turned from a word of friendship and affect
**So what does coffee have to do with it?**
**So what does coffee have to do with it?**
Fortune telling over coffee stretches back to the 16th century when the beans made it to the Middle East and Ottoman Empire. The reality is that in the Ottoman Empire, concubines in Harem were banned from talking and "gossiping". They had a great influence (although not officially recognized by men themselves) on sultans and therefore affected the political decisions and affairs of the Empire. Out of solidarity, women began to perform fortune-telling over the remains of coffee inside and outside coffee cups. This way they could talk about their fears and inner worlds freely. I can't help but see the similarity with the oppression women went through of gossip. The striking difference is how fortune telling over coffee didn't change its connotation in time. Today, it is also an act of solidarity or a chance to "gossip", one might say.
Fortune telling over coffee stretches back to the 16th century when the beans made it to the Middle East and Ottoman Empire. The reality is that in the Ottoman Empire, concubines in Harem were banned from talking and "gossiping". They had a great influence (although not officially recognized by men themselves) on sultans and therefore affected the political decisions and affairs of the Empire. Out of solidarity, women began to perform fortune-telling over the remains of coffee inside and outside coffee cups. This way they could talk about their fears and inner worlds freely. I can't help but see the similarity with the oppression women went through of gossip. The striking difference is how fortune telling over coffee didn't change its connotation in time. Today, it is also an act of solidarity or a chance to "gossip", one might say.
"In this painting, an Ottoman woman drinking coffee and her maid serving her is depicted. It is known that the painting is from the first half of the 18th century. The work of Jean-Baptiste Vanmour, 'Turkish Girl Drinking Coffee on the Sedir' was based on this Ottoman woman, who is the main figure of the painting. The maid, who is positioned on the right side of the painting and serves on her knees, is noticed as the other interesting side of the painting. The large and ostentatious headdress on the head of the Ottoman woman stands out as another element that focuses attention on the work. It is also known that the headdress in question was inspired by the picture of a serpentine woman in the book of the Dutch painter Cornelis de Bruyn, who visited Turkey in the 17th century."
"In this painting, an Ottoman woman drinking coffee and her maid serving her is depicted. It is known that the painting is from the first half of the 18th century. The work of Jean-Baptiste Vanmour, 'Turkish Girl Drinking Coffee on the Sedir' was based on this Ottoman woman, who is the main figure of the painting. The maid, who is positioned on the right side of the painting and serves on her knees, is noticed as the other interesting side of the painting. The large and ostentatious headdress on the head of the Ottoman woman stands out as another element that focuses attention on the work. It is also known that the headdress in question was inspired by the picture of a serpentine woman in the book of the Dutch painter Cornelis de Bruyn, who visited Turkey in the 17th century."
Whether with gossip or chatting over coffee, women have always found a way to express themselves regardless of oppression. These rituals were performed by women as an act of sisterhood and out of respect for both their inner worlds and each other. It is undeniable that gossip still brings people together and that centuries of oppression failed to change that. Through the centuries, as the word began to be weaponized against women and became a tool to turn against each other, I can't help but wonder how unfair pop culture was to women. In any magazine or TV series, anyone can spot a gossip scene with negative consequences or aim. A woman is sassy, "bitchy" or evil when she gossips, but why do we still let our acts be defined by the misogynistic portrayal of men? Today, the word gossip or fortune telling may be used as something you wouldn't want to be a part of because it could harm someone. Let's oppose the negative connotation assigned to this word by men and use it as a joyful gathering. Reclaiming gossip and fortune telling as an intimate support system, a strong web, is the least we can do to honour the women who met at taverns and shared a part of their souls with each other.
Whether with gossip or chatting over coffee, women have always found a way to express themselves regardless of oppression. These rituals were performed by women as an act of sisterhood and out of respect for both their inner worlds and each other. It is undeniable that gossip still brings people together and that centuries of oppression failed to change that. Through the centuries, as the word began to be weaponized against women and became a tool to turn against each other, I can't help but wonder how unfair pop culture was to women. In any magazine or TV series, anyone can spot a gossip scene with negative consequences or aim. A woman is sassy, "bitchy" or evil when she gossips, but why do we still let our acts be defined by the misogynistic portrayal of men? Today, the word gossip or fortune telling may be used as something you wouldn't want to be a part of because it could harm someone. Let's oppose the negative connotation assigned to this word by men and use it as a joyful gathering. Reclaiming gossip and fortune telling as an intimate support system, a strong web, is the least we can do to honour the women who met at taverns and shared a part of their souls with each other.
Boyana
2 years ago
