“Dry work is extractive, transactional; wet work is transformative ... a wet encounter is profoundly
political because it forces you to rethink your being-in-the-world”. - Spit/e collective

Defining the means is an interrogation of the famous Machiavelli idiom, 'the ends justify the means'. This phrase reflects a cultural standard to live by under neoliberalism, which downplays the alienating experiences we go through within capitalist institutions, under meritocratic notions of endurance, of reaching an 'ends'.

This mentality of self-resilience was shared with me frequently when I experienced racialised and futile events throughout my academic studies. Yet I wonder, what are the 'ends' which we are taught to be so stressed about reaching? If the 'means' of getting there are exploitative and drying, are they justified?

Dryness for me is an apt description of the nature of existing within tertiary institutions today: university life is stress-inducing; it tastes chalky and bitter; it is subtly discomforting, extractive and striated, exhaustive and taxing. Dryness invokes a sense of hopelessness in the face of concrete, impenetrable, and inhuman structures.

On the other hand, wetness is imaginative work. To me, wetness is to be playful and loving in a journey of learning. To be wet is to rest; to be open and present.

I am interested in the ways in which the systems and structures of the university dry out those within. Whether it be ripping up paper, creating a pulp bath, or gluing pages together, this project explores ways of engaging with materials and each other that reconnect with a sense of wetness.

Prior to the exhibition, a Rip n’ Bitch session was held at Window Gallery where students were welcome to bring along old assignments to rip and be turned into the paper exhibited.

By redefining and moving beyond the physical boundaries of the gallery, and drawing attention to the bureaucratic formalities of ‘the box’, Defining the means offers a first step in exploring how university institutions can find more wet means of existing.

Acknowledgements:
Big thanks to Oskar, Dami and Eilidh for all their support in making this project, and to the Window team for the opportunity to bring this project into the world.

Special thanks to the contributors who attended the Rip n’ Bitch workshop – the project would not exist without you!

To sign up for the Rip n' Bitch workshop (11am-2pm, Monday, 29th July), please follow this registration form