Bahar Noorizadeh - Market Esoterics, an Artistic Account

Despite claims to market rationality, the unknown endured in the economic undercurrent of modern political systems, reaching full fruition in advanced financial markets. This necessary obscurity means that markets operate not on the basis of transparency, as rationalist theories propose, but instead of obscurity; as an esoterics. Through a cinematic account, this talk traces the footprints of esotericism on the worldbuilding mega-projects of Elon Musks and Jeff Bezos, early neoliberals’ market metaphysics, and even cybernetic socialist utopias. This survey will help us examine what speculative strategies can bring to tackling today’s predatory practices of finance. Bio: Bahar Noorizadeh looks at the relationship between art and capitalism. In her practice as an artist, writer and filmmaker, she examines the conflictual and contradictory notions of imagination and speculation as they suffuse one another. Her research investigates the histories of economics, cybernetic socialism, and activist