to become a productive member of the group
By Lindsay Costello
in response to Kalaija Mallery - Virtuous Beasts - thesis presentation at Fourteen30
To begin with, remember: it was your joy to become a productive member of the group. You recall it fondly.
in which you met THE CHARISMATIC LEADER (CL)1
1. You found the CL on the Instagram Explore page. A momentous day.
2. You noticed that the CL was politically conscious and knew where their food came from.
3. The CL issued carefully-worded statements when they were wrong.
4. The CL donated to the ACLU.
5. When questioned, the CL adopted an earnest expression.2 The CL cried about the injustice they’d caused.3
6. The CL laughed when they were called cult leader chic. They wore boxy white linen, listened to old folk music, kept all of their houseplants alive.
7. The CL was self-actualized and spiritual, but not religious. They bought Ethically, consumed Purposefully, and used social media With Intention. These were posited as core tenets of the group.
1 The Charismatic Leader wore Mandrake Dress, Off-White, size 4, $314.26 and Wisteria Earrings, Dauphinette, $36. Their look made you long to feel alive, young, and thin. The look maintained absolute authority over you.
2 There was no space for questions. The money was always right. The money knew the truth. The money doled out the validation, which was the look, which became the feeling, which became feeling alive.
3 Sometimes sadness is a folded knife.
in which you began the INDOCTRINATION PROCESS4
8. The CL took you on a camping trip. They preached the importance of escape from the city and return to the land. Fortunately, the Pacific Northwest has lots of ideal escape destinations.
9. The CL rhapsodized about the untouched beauty of the West and generalized about Native history in the same breath. They wore Patagonia and cutoffs, knew which berries were safe to eat.
10. When you returned home, you watched a documentary about Skid Row in Los Angeles. You recalled the homeless man that poked through your apartment building’s dumpster. Sometimes he came at night and he sounded like a raccoon down there. When you looked out the window you could see his dusky snake-shadow darting around.5
11. You thought about the CL’s eyes again. You bought La Roche-Posay Anti-Aging 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum, 30 mL, $39.99.
12. You fretted over your inadequate financial solvency. 6
4 You were thinking about the CL’s eyes all the time. You weren’t getting enough sleep, you were eating erratically, and you were starting to distrust your perceptions.
5 Indoctrination required that you cultivate and maintain an intense fear of the outside world, except for Nature, which was safe.
6 Remember that you do not meet your standards or your society’s.
in which you learned that there is NO LEGITIMATE LEAVING7
13. The CL explained that any desire to leave the group is a symptom of disease within yourself—lack of individuality, stamina, and hard work. It’s not the CL’s fault they’re beautiful. It’s not the CL’s fault that they aren’t lazy.
14. The CL explained that to quit the group would be giving up, and the least self-actualized thing to be is a quitter.8
15. The CL explained that as long as Ethical, Purposeful, and Intentional humans are in control, everything will be fine.
16. Finally, you were threatened with unforeseen action if you left the group.9
17. In the morning you noticed the same man down by the apartment dumpster. You considered offering him some money, but decided he was too scary to approach.10
18. You thought of CL’s kimono from Free People. It was time for another getaway. You opened your laptop. You Google searched yurts rental Oregon.
7 To abandon the group’s Ethical, Purposeful, and Intentional capitalist mindset would be wrong, negative, and evil.
8 This seemed incorrect, but you didn’t question it.
9 You ignored signs of abuse stemming from capitalist endeavors.
10 You villainized those who did not adhere to capitalist principles
—
Virtuous Beasts, by Kalaija Mallery was a pop up exhibition at Fourteen30 Contemporary (Aug 2 - Aug 8, 2020). Exploring notions of a post-catastrophe “agri-cult”, Mallery imagines communal living and spiritual cultivation at the end of Capitalism. Drawing from religious and rural aesthetics, she alludes to a morally complicated future. Found and assembled objects paired with drawings and video pursue the notion that freedom is as abundant and fruitful a virtue as the Earth itself.
ARTIST INFO
Kalaija Mallery is a multiform artist and community organizer. She works in response to notions of liberation and aesthetic irony, and is interested in the formation of underground religious groups and fringe-communities. She started Third Room in 2017 as a space for experimental exhibitions and diy programming for young and underrepresented artists. She is a 2019 co-recipient of the Precipice Fund for her publication project, "You Are Here". Her artwork has been shown in Beijing, New York, Portland, and Seattle. Kalaija now lives in St. Louis, where she works as acting manager for The Luminary.
