![A black and white GIF that first shows a man looking up at the words "Formality [star] - Travelling to the neighbourhood made relatively easier", then changes to the words "Apply Now" in big letters.](https://upprojects.imgix.net/images/Formality-Ewan-Atkinson-2020-GIF.gif)
PLEASE NOTE: Formality* is not optimised for touch screen devices.
Formality* is an interactive experience brought to UP Projects by Barbados-based artist Ewan Atkinson that deploys humour and the absurd to explore citizenship and social acceptability.
For many years Atkinson has engaged in the study of a relatively unknown community called The Neighbourhood, seeking to understand its origins and inhabitants. The Neighbourhood Project is an archive of this ongoing study.
Formality* is an interactive digital visa application service that grants citizenship to The Neighbourhood. Built on the obsolete 1980s software system, HyperCard, it highlights the use of outdated technologies in bureaucratic practices. Meanwhile, the puzzling questions and riddles contained in Formality* refer to the political, cultural and linguistic limitations that impact free movement.
From Ewan Atkinson:
“The Neighbourhood is a strangely comfortable place, frustratingly cryptic and yet delightfully transparent, all at once. Formality* is a curious and frustrating example of technological ‘advancement’ in The Neighbourhood.
While intended to simplify the bureaucratic visa application process, my experience exploring it suggests otherwise.
The tutorial is woefully incomplete, the software antiquated with many glitches, and the questions border on the absurd. One wonders if it was actually supposed to work. In a commendable move to incorporate the voices of residents, the developers have included testimonials from local ‘advisors’ to help the user progress. However, their usefulness is questionable, suggesting that their presence might merely be an effort to appease rather than represent a real commitment to inclusivity. Unsurprisingly, I have found no evidence proving that this version of the software was actually put to use.”
Atkinson asks for your help.
“My attempts to be approved for a Neighbourhood visa with Formality* have been futile. My application is always declined.
I get the impression there is a secret way to navigate the software successfully. This is where I need your help.
I invite you to help me with my research by attempting to use Formality* yourselves. If any information about The Neighbourhood is necessary for this task, you can find it in my research archive, www.theneighbourhoodproject.com.
If you manage to gain approval, please email a screen shot of your successful 'Applicant Report' and a mailing address to neighbourhoodprojectmail@gmail.com
The first two successful applicants will win a limited-edition print of 'Peregrination, A Playable Reproduction,’ a Neighbourhood artefact first discovered in 2018.”
Peregrination offers advice to new Neighbourhood residents, helping them to acclimatise, attain acceptance and gain prosperity. Its aesthetic is reminiscent of 17th century Northern American and European board games, which conflicts with its content - raising questions as to the geneses and development of The Neighbourhood.
Biography
Ewan Atkinson’s work has been exhibited by international galleries, museums and institutions including Liverpool Biennial, the 12th Havana Biennial, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, National Gallery of Jamaica in Kingston, Jamaica, the Museum of Latin American Art in California, Art Museum of the Americas in Washington D.C., Transmission Gallery in Scotland and Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast. Atkinson has been an educator for over 15 years. He is currently the coordinator of the Studio Art BFA programme at the Barbados Community College and a co-founder of Punch Creative Arena, an independent curatorial initiative.
