Shana Nys DambrotKcymaerxthaere is a place and it is also an idea of a place. Not so much a parallel universe as an intersecting one. It’s like this: Ours and the other operate on different frequencies, and according to different metrics of time, space and geography. Here and there, over the millennia and in the future, the worlds poke through, each into the other. We don’t know how things go in Kcymaerxthaere, but here it’s all invisible to the naked human eye. But through a singularly attuned sensibility, geographer-at-large Eames Demetrios is able to scour the Earth (aka the linear plane) for locations of historic Kcymaerxthaere-plane importance.
Eames Demetrios: Kcymaerxthaere marker at the City of Justice site in linear Vilnius, Lithuania; Credit: Courtesy of the artist
Though primarily a writer and conceptual artist, Demetrios is grounded in the designer/maker ethos inherited from his grandparents (Charles and Ray Eames) and his mother (a talented sculptor), and thus more than chronicling, he builds physical, permanent markers that identify and explain the events that happened “there.” For example, great time wars, environmental episodes, continental and dimensional drifts, and all manner of creation myths, political intrigue, romance and art.
Eames Demetrios: Krblin Jihn Cabin interior, Joshua Tree; Credit: Shana Nys Dambrot
Eames Demetrios: Krblin Jihn Cabin interior, Joshua Tree; Credit: Shana Nys Dambrot
These markers, laden with expository text, take many forms, from simple brass plaques to elaborate cement and stone monuments and full-on architectural interventions. They exist (about 140 of them) on every habitable continent and sometimes on the cold,wet ocean floor — but there are a few easily accessible sites right here in the L.A. area: “Shirotsumek Hill” in Chinatown, “Kulver Glade” in Culver City, “Remnal of a Senging Chave” in Hollywood and the glorious “Krblin Jihn Cabin” in Joshua Tree, a permanent highlight of the High Desert Test Sites art map, just a couple of miles from the Noah Purifoy site. The Cabin tells the story of a man imprisoned for his religious beliefs in a kind of house arrest, during which he modified the jackrabbit homestead to reflect and encode his esoteric rituals. It’s a gorgeous, haunting, energy vortex, with a plaque, altar, scriptures and a detailed visitor information kiosk, free and open to everyone all the time.
Eames Demetrios: Kcymaerxthaere: The Story So Far … Folio 1; Credit: Courtesy of the artist
This endeavor also has generated a compendium of books, works of art and commemorative events the world over. For example, the travel guides, a previous series that offered facts and directions to the markers around the world as well as background on the cosmology of Kcymaerxthaere, but also, in an analog precursor to mixed reality, legitimately helpful tips, such as nearby hotels and restaurants in the linear plane. There are other books as well, plus Museum of Benches trading cards, embroidered textile works made in collaboration with global craftswomen. And now there is also “Kcymaerxthaere: The Story So Far … (Folio 1)” which is a compilation of the first 138 of the existing Kcymaerxthaere sites as they appear in our linear world, as well as background and behind-the-scenes materials and other surprises.
Eames Demetrios: Kcymaerxthaere: The Story So Far … Folio 1; Credit: Courtesy of the artist
“Here is a spread from the book itself: on the left is an image of installing our 111th site in Flores, Indonesia. On the right is Mayon, the symmetrical volcano of Legazpi, the Philippines — soon to be in the viewshed of one of our installations.”
Eames Demetrios: Kcymaerxthaere global sites map; Credit: Courtesy of the artist
“From Folio 1, a map of all the installations covered in the book. One is for installation on the Moon (not yet scheduled), six are in the process of being installed. So excited to see Moonwatchers, Relearning Love, Lost in Scale, You Might Not Be Here, Mainone and Her Sisters, and Flyover Country all complete! Getting closer every day!! On the other hand, two more have been done since we finished writing Folio 1.”
Eames Demetrios: Kcymaerxthaere: The Story So Far … Folio 1; Credit: Courtesy of the artist
“Crystals of Refrain, Aghtsk, Armenia, key site in the story of Eliala Mei-Ning, the singer whose voice was too beautiful to be concealed, and so was pursued relentlessly after being the only witness to a terrible crime.”
Eames Demetrios: Kcymaerxthaere: The Story So Far … Folio 1; Credit: Courtesy of the artist
“The red coordinates mean this one has not been installed yet — mostly because it is intended for the Moon. But we have a plan, it just requires 24 person-hours by two people on the lunar surface. And some rakes and a bench. We are ready (seriously).”
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Eames Demetrios; Credit: Courtesy of the artist
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