Introducing the Faketrix Universe

During the lockdown of 2020 I put a second hand wooden shed up in my back garden, at the time all my sculpture tools and materials were piled up in the spare room, we had our second child on the way and I needed to clear all my shit. The shed was built and I started to document the process, each step of the way, building the base, the walls, the roof, and then the inside, building work benches and tool walls etc..

My plan came from a panic that I was entering that September with only that one school year remaining of student funding and I had to find a way of making a living through my art before I got out the other side.. As any logical 26 year old does, I decided to become a YouTuber... It was a piece of piss, I'd film myself in my shed, now named the Sculpt Factory, and have a loose 'factory' theme running throughout, at the time I was working on bootleg toys and mass production, playing with the irony of it in fine art and all those ideas, so the factory idea made a lot of sense, and it was funny to me that I called it a factory yet there was only me working in it. Another one of those themes was the work thing, I had to get myself into a routine, starting this YouTube channel, I thought it would be possible, as long as I treated it like a full time job, and put everything into it, and so there was something conceptual about me getting up out of bed and heading down to my shed to go to 'work', the 9-5 at the bottom of my garden where I worked by myself and made absolutely zero money.

From the first VLOG episode (I lost access to the editing

software I was stealing, and so never got the chance to export the first two episodes, this is what I have access to)

Anyway.. I filmed myself from September until Christmas, building the shed became one ten minute episode, kitting out the inside became another ten minute episode, and the third video got well underway, I was creating my first project in the Sculpt Factory, a toy called Mickey Military, a modified set of toy soldiers which I sculpted mickey mouse heads onto. I filmed the process, going into detail about the idea development, and through the making process.

About half way through the process I started thinking about adding in subtle little things like a conveyor belt for these little soldiers, just a few little hints that this was a factory, just as a joke really.

This idea evolved into adding in a few cameos, like I'll be working at the bench and then I'll leave to get a tool or something, and I'll come back dressed as a janitor, and I'd just sweep up around the bench, leave the room, and I'd come back dressed as myself again.. Just little cameos from a few different people who worked at the 'factory' just to make the 'making process video' a little more interesting.

Naturally my over working brain took over and this developed into adding in a narrative in the background of the making video, whilst the build video is going on, the sculpture or whatever would be passed down the assembly line to different employees, and through out this process there would be a running narrative for each episode.

When I sat down to write this first script, it became just that, a short film script, which very easily turned into a series script. I eventually wrote out a 5 season arc for a show called 'Sculpt Factory', which was a fully working factory, with corridors, multiple rooms, and many characters with costumes and backstories, all played by me in my twelve foot by twelve foot second hand wooden shed.

I started doing character tests but I couldn't help but post them, and slowly the narrative unfolded, it never became the 5 season arc I had planned, and that I wrote 5 episodes for, it became something else entirely, it was a kind of social media experiment, I added in artist alter egos, who had their own Instagram accounts, and they interacted with each other commenting on each others posts, replying to people who'd replied to the Sculpt Factories posts. I'd do video replies to people's comments on videos, making it an interactive experiment, this is the main reason why the planned narrative kind of went out the window, I found that part of it more interesting, this semi-fictional world.

I began calling this semi-fictional world 'The Faketrix', I realised when I was filming the process videos (which were very altered from the original YouTube plan, focusing less on the sculptures and more on the characters) that I could manipulate things, especially working in this fictional world, it didn't matter what I said, it's all fake, and I liked that, in an age where every other instagram account is fake, and real peoples profiles are fake, I liked this idea of telling people that everything they're seeing is fake, and for that reason it's more honest than most other shit on the internet.

I made sculptures out of plaster of paris and said it was resin, I couldn't afford resin, I had two kids by this point, no chance. But the college gave me plaster.

And in this covid era, where the only art you ever saw was on a screen, it was interesting to play this ideas like this, because unless someone had a very keen eye, they'd never tell from some half arsed phone footage whether it was plaster or resin. I played with these ideas a lot, making it look as if I'd mass produced something, when actually there was only like 3 casts ever made.

Through this process I added in fake businesses, the daily lost post being the local newspaper, which added to the narrative, and Plastic baby Co which eventually ended up sponsoring the Sculpt Factory saving them from going under (it was a terrible business plan) This world allowed me to explore all my different ideas, I had a robotics sculpture and it fit in with the Plastic Baby Co business, it had a place, and it contributed to a larger narrative.. it all made sense to me finally, a place where all my work could co exist in a kind of expanded universe setting.

What was really interesting to me though was the use of my alter ego accounts. I started Defective Dennis to play with different ideas of freeing myself up from imposter syndrome, the persona would just post random unfinished sketches, stuff that I wouldn't dare post before, because it wasn't a true representation of my work etc.. But playing a role, hiding behind the guise of my alter ego, I was able to just post randomly, and people talked to me about it just as much as the stuff I took weeks making. It was a life changing moment, like that realisation that I don't need to be such a perfectionist. It carried over to the main 'sculpt factory' account when I started doing basic vfx work, it was terrible, but when it was at a stage of looking half not too bad, I was fine with it, get it out, the stories the main thing.. I didn't have time or recourses to make good sets, so I chucked together a few back drops made from rotting pallets and old wardrobes, and other random things from other peoples house renovations.. they were crap in comparison to the sets I've built for actual films, but it was fine, I had a lot to do as a one man film crew, so I chucked them together, the same with props, and moved on.. I wouldn't have released even a third of the things I've put out there if it wasn't for the learning curve with Defective Dennis.

This whole process got me thinking about how many artists struggle with these constant themes of perfectionism and imposter syndrome, what if this universe I created could help other artists too?

Since this realisation I've been slowly plotting and planning what has become The Faketrix Universe.

Originally intended to be a purely social media collaboration experiment where anyone could make a fake account of their alter ego and jump in on the established world I'd started creating, using it as a platform to create art that maybe they don't usually create, or don't want to associate with their main practice, or they just want to experiment in a fictional world, or they want to do the same as Defective Dennis did for me and find a way of over coming their perfectionist.

So I'm currently working on the Faketrix Universe, which has developed a bit, and now has a home on my website (which I'm currently still working on) it has forums, a town centre, and a place for people to hang out and discuss the continuous narrative. I've made connections to RPGs (role playing games) and how you create a character, and go on an adventure through an already established world, but as you go through it you can change things along the way.. I'm currently calling The Faketrix Universe an ARPE (artistic role playing experiment)

The ideas the same.. but now you #EnterTheFaketrix by signing up as a member to this website, set up your profile as your alter ego (you can make as many as you want) Download the Faketrix Handbook, which gives you advice on making an alter ego, some ideas, some rules, laws of the land etc, and a good run down of how the experiment 'works'. Which I'm really looking forward to reading once it's done, because I have no idea how it works yet!

I have the basic idea of how it plays out, but am still working out how much control I have over the world building etc.. Do I establish the whole world, and artists just come in and create work inspired by the things they see, for example, on the Faketrix town centre map you can go to the Fine Art Bargain store, which will open up a page which is basically an online gallery, it will start with the work created as part of the collaborative dialogues MA module with the Offendas Collective, then after a few months or so, I will put out a call for art to be shown at the next phase of the gallery, the next show, a re-stock of the fine art bargains. It gives a reason for it to exist in the Faketrix, a reason for there to be a map, and a platform for people to create work for, fine art bargains is a stylized gallery, in the guise of a shop, the work is satirical and product based. The selection process for each re-stock will take into account the curation of each show, choosing a selection of work that relates to the store.. it's a capitalistic company, it's funny. I think. But what it does is provides a brief of sorts, a quick snappy brief that says 'make artwork for this stylistic gallery' or 'make product based artwork', it might be something people haven't considered before in their personal practices..

I'm looking at other ideas around this theme of the gallery disguised as a functional town centre store or building, I have other fake companies such as Plastic baby Co and Walking Billboard Clothing Co that I'd like to have a place, but I think this new route it's going down has this interactive nature, a reason for these places existing in this kind of virtual space.

What other gallery spaces could exist in the Faketrix?

I'm thinking about a Cinema space which would basically to begin with just be a place for filmmakers to show their films, but it can be set up to show premiers etc.. The idea would be that the films shown would exist within the Faketrix universe, so a series like Sculpt Factory is a documentary (in world) about the employees of the factory.. but people could also make films that are fictional, but take place in the world of the Faketrix.. a rom com in the Faketrix universe? I dunno, I'm thinking big here.. But people are deeply into dungeons and dragons and stuff like that..

I suppose at the end of the day it's an experimental platform where artists of all disciplines can jump in and create work in and around an already established universe, you know, not having to think of the world building elements, its a cool place that already exists to put some new ideas down.

For example I love the star wars universe all the lore and world building aspects of that world are fascinating, and a big inspiration for this project, but if I was to make a film based in that world, it would be fan fiction, I think the Faketrix would work on more of an open-source basis, the world is there and open to use, if you like it you can add to the narrative..

And here's the issue, as great as that sounds, its a collaborative project, for example someone could have a good idea for their alter ego to develop their story, then someone else can come along and blow up the planet, it would be chaos, the first person would be pissed because their character now cant do the things they'd been setting up... So this is where I'm at with thinking about how much control I have as the 'game master' in a way.

As great as it would be to have this totally open world where everyone builds this creative world up together through a forum where everyone puts forward world building ideas and they figure out a narrative course.. it's not very practical! So maybe the narrative or timeline should be part of that Faketrix handbook, more of a blueprint of the universe rather than a timeline maybe, like this is the established universe, this is what you can change, this is what you cant... the interesting thing to me is how this is all controlled, like this will still be a thing that people will post onto social media, its a big part of it, make the work, post it on Instagram, that way the whole universe can start to build a following, an audience of 'non-players' who can follow accounts, do detective work and 'find' the narratives of different alter egos. Kind of becoming a new form of entertainment, an expanded universe where theres multiple people playing the same narrative across different social media accounts, the viewer is never given everything on a plate, they have to look for it, make connections, find the hashtags..

I'm looking at the daily lost post, the official Faketrix newspaper which I've introduced in my sculpt factory practice, another page to follow to get extra information, maybe this can become a larger factor, a kind of base to start discovering the narrative, and it could also become a platform for artists to share their work on... another incentive of the Faketrix.. in the town centre there could be a daily lost post office building, you can click on it and submit an article about your art work or the narrative involving your alter ego.. say your alter ego is premiering a film in the Faketrix cinema next week, you can put an ad for it in the article... making a new series of sculptures? Put it in the newspaper!

People following the daily lost post account will have a constant supply of information about the residents and businesses of the Faketrix universe. Big events in world such as STM attacks (an in universe thing) or creative waste explosions could be reported on from time to time from myself, as the game master, continuing the narrative over time to keep things interesting.

WEB 3.0 and the METAVERSE

I've recently started looking into all this, and it's very exciting, as much as I can definitely see the dystopian angst around it, I can't help but be the optimist and see how great it will be! And it's ironic because I've just worked on a collaboration project where we created a fictional business that existed in the metARTverse, it was a piss take and a satirical dystopian look into the future of art.

But, what's funny is that The Faketrix is pretty much a metARTverse, especially how I see the eventual product.. I'm starting it off as a 2D website based project, which will over time develop into more of a 3D form, and further into a virtual space you can move around, and maybe eventually, a 3D virtual world you can walk through with an avatar of your own alter ego.. I definitely has the potential, and so it should, I think the Metaverse is coming whether we like it or not, it's already starting, and businesses need to be ready for that.

The metaverse unlike popular belief is not just a Facebook/meta thing, it's the collection of companies and individuals that make up with new web 3.0, the nest phase of the internet, there wont be an exact start date as such, it will slowly develop over time and one day we will start saying that were in the metaverse and web 3.0. I want to be ready for when people are engaging in virtual worlds, and be the first artist based virtual reality space specifically designed for alter egos.

This video has absolutely blown my teeny tiny brain wide open... This idea that in the not so distant future we will be walking around with glasses, and eventually contact lenses that have screens built in, allowing us to walk down the street and someone will work towards you with a pair of animated shoes on!

The thing that blows my mind the most, is that this is already happening, not quite as smooth as a set of contact lenses, but this augmented reality technology exists, we have to look at it through a phone at the moment, but there are high end goggles available to do this better.