Decoding fantasy, identity, and the desire for genetic perfection in the online myth of Alexandria’s Genesis
This exhibition contains some strong language.
This exhibition is a conspiracy. A fanfiction. A myth. A copypasta. A mutated reality that distributes its truth by any means possible. Operating in the dystopian struggle between fact and fiction, disinformation and information, fake and real, Alexandria’s Genesis situates itself between beliefs, insecurities and desires to form a fanfiction of a fanfiction.
Once relegated to the obscure corners of the internet, the myth of Alexandria's Genesis has circulated on internet forums and social media, evolving into many forms. A rumoured genetic anomaly, transforming people into long-living “perfect human beings” with violet eyes and flawless pale skin, supposedly gave those with the condition strength and vitality. Created in 1998 by Daria fanfic writer Cameron Aubernon to explain her Mary Sues characters, it gained traction online, until it was eventually debunked.
Dian Joy takes this myth and remixes it again, isolating imagery and injecting new elements that destabilise its original form.
Approaching this viral myth as a hyper-referential text—a meme that mutates and replicates—Dian fills the gallery with its persuasive logic, roaming from screen to screen, creating an entangled web of deceit, desire, and fantasy. By pushing the myth to new extremes, she exposes the persistent logic of whiteness beneath the fantasy of genetic perfection—a fiction that refuses to quit.
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Alexandria’s Genesis is a study of how ideas spread in the digital age. Dian’s work reveals how the myth and similar viral phenomena mutate to survive within algorithmic systems. What began as a fanfiction evolves into a viral meme, propelled by the internet. In this exhibition Dian invites us to consider how digital content reflects our desires and serves as a disciplinary force—policing how we see ourselves and exist within these systems.
Text by Nora O Murchú
OPENING HOURS
Free entry Tue - Sun 1 - 6 pm
EVENTS PROGRAMME
Opening Party
Thu 14 Nov 2024, 6:30 - 9pm
Celebrate the opening of Alexandria’s Genesis with us.
Artist & Guest Tour
Sat 30 Nov 2024, 1:30 - 2:30pm
Artist Dian Joy and Brian Yue tour Alexandria’s Genesis.
Artist Tour
Sat 14 Dec 2024, 1:30 - 2.30pm
Artist Dian Joy tours Alexandria’s Genesis.
Myths and Memetics
Sat 11 Jan 2025, 3:00 - 6.00pm
A public programme curated by Reforum exploring digital folklore with Dian Joy, Alya Kanibelli, Cameron Aubernon, Gunseli Yalcinkaya and Philip Speakman through panel talk, roundtable and workshop, unravelling how myths mutate through memetics and copypasta.
Exhibition
booklet
Alexandria’s Genesis forms part of arebyte’s artistic focus for 2023/26 themed The Body, The Mind, The Soul, an exploration of the complex nature of humanity in the realm of technological progress.
The exhibition is the culmination of Hotel Generation, a yearly artist development programme mentoring the next generation of UK digital artists and whose 2024 edition was awarded to Dian Joy.
ARTIST BIO
Dian Joy is a British-Nigerian interdisciplinary artist and educator based in London. Their work explores the intersection of biological and technological systems through videos and installations. Grounded in Cultural Analysis, their work bridges personal experiences and political realities, offering alternative social modalities.
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Artist: Dian Joy
Director: Dian Joy
Producers: Dian Joy, Isidora Fairhust, Miles Ahmad
Choreography by: Zinzile
DOP: Miles Ahmad
2nd Camera: Olivia Prendergast
Camera Assist: Hugo Mostachfi
Gaffer: Belle Palmano
Spark: Kat Hanratty
Sound: cajm, Oliver Palfreyman
Production Design: Alexandre Tarek
Make-up: Eve Shashoua
Wardrobe: Gina Corrieri
Runner/Wardrobe Assist: Ella Corrieri
Editor: Adam Muscat
Editors Assist: Vincent Holden
Graphics: Arna Beth
VFX: Sarah-Lou Sasha Maarek
Grade: Nathaniel Skeels
Soundtrack: cajm, Golce Kummer
Featuring: Cameron Aubernon as Herself
Cast: Josiane MH Pozi, Leo Bhanji, Juliette Motamed, Jacob Phil Ebosie, Isidora Fairhurst, Billy Jacobson, Adam Grant, Megan Ita O’Rourke, Cold, Kutcha Bouzin, Bianca Scout, Ama Jones, Sarah-Lou Sasha Maarek, Arna Beth
Exhibition Production Manager: Adriana Navarro
Exhibition Digital Producer: Ellinor Paik
Exhibition Technicians: Dmitry Timofeev, George Browne, Henrique Lázaro, Jon Fawcett, Noah Griffin, Rizq Yazed
Exhibition Vinyl Technician: Debbie Spink
Exhibition Graphic Designer: Camilla Does
Hotel Generation Curatorial mentoring: Rebecca Edwards
Special thanks to Adam Muscat, Alexandre Tarek, Brian Yue, Funmi Nathan-Marsh, Juliette Motamed, Vivian Oparah, Rebecca Edwards, Studio Private, and Fully Focused Productions.
ARTIST INTERVIEW
In this interview, Dian Joy gives us contextual insights into the creation of the exhibition and their hopes for the show.
TALKING HEADS
Experts within the digital arts sector are invited to review and discuss the works of the exhibiting artist.
