The rise of “Cybernetics” as a study and how we understand our broader philosophy and sociology in relation to cybernetic theory has played a significant role in this collection. The internet is macabre, gothic, and terrifying. Guided by Mark Fisher’s Flatline Constructs: Gothic Materialism and Cybernetic Theory-Fiction there lies a certain apocalyptic vision of humanity through the cybernetic lens. Fisher proposes that the cybernetic space—embodied in the internet and digital networks—is an extension of the soul, both a vehicle for transcendence and a potential site for malevolence. 

The extension of the soul into the digital flesh creates precedent for divine protection. 

Karsten Kroening spent the majority of his time designing this collection in rural Alaska and Canada where he meditated on the symbol of the angel. The angelic as a source of protection. Nestled in a cabin between pale mountain tops and barren rocky shores he synthesized the ancient texts of the non canonical book of Enoch, Shem HaMephorash, and texts involving the figure Metatron; with the perspective of a rising cybernetic and digital flesh. 

“Mecha Angelic Patterning” is the design language in which Karsten Kroening deploys in this collection to create “apotropaic” clothing. 

The term "apotropaic" derives from the ancient Greek word "Ἀποτρόπαιοι," meaning "to turn away" or "to ward off." It is often attributed to objects that protect the wearer from evil such as the Ketef Hinnom scrolls, the oldest surviving Hebrew texts, they were worn as necklaces or amulets for divine protection. Each piece of clothing is carefully modeled and thoughtfully inspired by the angelic beings of antiquity. 

Jackets, Shirts, and Sweaters are carefully crafted to evoke the wings of cybernetic angels. The cyber or mecha quality of the garments is reminiscent of that of the EVAs and angels in Neon Genesis Evangelion. There is an apocalyptic and operatic quality to Neon Genesis which serves as a spiritual guide to this collection. “The Third Impact” which merges the souls of all humanity feels echoed in the emerging digital flesh in which our souls have become so invested in online space.

This presentation and an accompanying video is an opera about trying to find grace in grounds of an aspiring apocalypse.

Further Explorations:

• Flatline Constructs: Gothic Materialism and Cybernetic Theory-Fiction by Mark Fisher

• Neon Genesis Evangelion 

• The End Of Evangelion 

• The Book of Enoch

• Orchards of a Futile Heaven by The Body and Dis Fig

• The Seventy-Two Angels of the Shemhamphorash: Their Derivation, Correspondences, and Invocation

• The Enoch-Metatron Tradition in the Kabbalah of Nathan Neta Shapira of Kraków

• Angelicism01

• De Arte Combinatoria by Gottfried Leibniz