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ART AS A TIME MACHINE

Recently I listened to a podcast with Amanda Montell about magical overthinking. Magical thinking is a concept where people tend to link certain thoughts, although these thoughts are unrelated. For example: you are afraid to hop on an airplane, so you have a personal ritual before departure to guard your own safety. The act of doing your ritual, has no influence on the safety of your flight, though your mind can trick yourself into thinking it has. It is a way for humankind to deal with situations where we are not in control.

The idea of a magical thinking sounds amazing, but in reality/modern times, we lean to magical overthinking. So much is happening, on both individual and societal level, that our brain simply cannot process all these incentives. For us to hold on a feeling of control, we end up overthinking things.

This way of thinking brings a lot of people to nostalgia, where we think back in the days everything was better. A time without smartphones for example, seems like an easier way of living. It is proven that when we feel nostalgic, we idealise our memories of the past. You can think about this on a personal level, maybe your childhood feels like a beautiful time. Also, on a bigger historical level, we are obsessed with ancient times and might forget the horror these times also included. In a time where trauma, as a personal and societal idea, is considered valid, I do think about this for myself. I remember, in week six and the weeks following, I was looking at childhood series I watched when I was a kid. I tried to channel my younger self and how I felt back then. I also noticed, within my work, I was looking for a kind of nostalgic form. Maybe I too was trying to idealise these times, because deep inside these times where not good for me. Maybe I’m trying to rewrite this part of my life and make good memories. I guess it is a way of dealing with the past and securing myself for a better future. I feel like a big part of my work is based around this.

Another interesting thing Montell said, was the concept of nostalgia for the present and future. Here she tries to feel these kinds of nostalgic emotions for the present. Not to idealise the present or future, but just a way to feel blessed and optimistic. I guess this again is a human coping mechanism, trying to see the good to aim for a better future. I guess art in general is both a great resource to process and inform about our history and at the same time a kind of glance to the future. Art as a time machine.

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