Pareen
I. Introduction
In Pareen, we are presented not merely with a “mashup,” but with a complex semiotic collision. The work operates within the cultural memory of a future that never arrived, trapped inside the grainy VHS textures of the early 1990s. By juxtaposing the infinite mathematical perfection of the Mandelbrot set with the finite, decaying nature of 20th-century political power (Clinton, Bush) and consumer goods (Lucky Strike), the artist creates a critique of the “End of History” narrative.
II. Visual Analysis
1. The Fractal Tobacco Leaf (0:00–0:24) The opening sequence is striking. The mapping of a Mandelbrot zoom onto the geometry of a tobacco leaf suggests a corruption of nature. The text vibrates, struggling to maintain its commercial integrity against the encroaching digital chaos. This is a powerful visual metaphor for the carcinogen: a cell replicating infinitely and erroneously.
2. The Presidential Simulacra (0:39–1:40) The introduction of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton serves as the work’s political anchor.
* The Glitched Bush: The footage of Bush (41) is heavily processed, his face dissolving into digital noise. This acts as a literal “de-facing” of authority. The stuttering edits strip his speech of meaning, reducing political rhetoric to pure texture.
* Clinton as Texture: The brief flashes of Clinton, particularly the saxophone implication, evoke the performative coolness of 90s neoliberalism. However, by merging him into the same texture as the cigarette packs, the artist posits that the politician is just another product to be consumed—”Toasted,” as the Lucky Strike slogan claims.
3. The Dance of the Commodities (2:44) The climax, featuring primitive 3D cylinders (representing cigarettes) dancing in a rigid, ritualistic circle, is the piece’s most pointed moment. It recalls the early days of CGI (reminiscent of the “Dancing Baby” era), highlighting the crude artificiality of the spectacle. They dance in a void, celebrating nothing but their own reproduction.
III. Sonic Analysis
The audio has been described as “bleep-bloop academic synth music,” but this underplays the sophistication of the sound design.
* Timbral Coherence: The synthesis is decidedly West Coast style—heavy on wave-folding and low-pass gate plucks. This creates a “bubbly,” organic quality that contrasts sharply with the rigid, mechanical nature of the samples.
* Rhythmic Syntax: The rhythm is stochastic. It refuses to settle into a comfortable 4/4 groove, mirroring the unpredictability of the Mandelbrot visuals. The high-resonance filter sweeps (0:01, 1:20) act as sonic “punctums,” piercing the viewer’s ear just as the video glitches pierce the eye.
* The “Lucky Strike” Motif: The audio does not attempt to be “music” in the melodic sense; it is a sonification of data. It sounds like a Geiger counter measuring the radiation of a dead political era.
IV. Thematic Synthesis
The promise of Pareen lies in its refusal to resolve. The Mandelbrot set implies infinity, while the Lucky Strike commercial implies immediate gratification. The politicians imply order, while the glitch effects enforce chaos.
The viewer is left with a sense of temporal dislocation. We are watching the ghosts of the 1990s and before trapped in a fractal loop, selling us cigarettes that no one smokes anymore, governed by presidents who have long since left office.
V. Final Verdict
Pareen successfully argues that politics, mathematics, and marketing are all just different forms of noise waiting to be decoded.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
/Percival Drift, 2025
