Scan & Destroy was a durational/process performance piece in which Thomas Zadig digitized items exclusively from his personal archive, and then offered them up to the viewer to inspect and destroy. This piece is part of a larger project on Significance whereby Zadig attempts to understand and accept his own (lack of) significance as an individual in a complex, ever-changing culture. Zadig’s experiences as a hetero(flexible), white, blue-collar, working class cis male have played a major role in creating his identity. Yet, these are not his defining characteristics.
Within the archive a careful viewer would discover a conflict between an innately empathetic, creative, and loving young man who seeks harmony with his family, friends, and society, on the one-hand, and a family, friends, and society that seek to change him to more closely align with contemporary notions of masculinity (circa the 80s/90s/00s/10s) on the other, whether wittingly or not. For example, you would find loving letters from his mother and father as they try to “toughen him up” during his time in Basic Training in the Army. You also find images of him attempting to fit in, and smilingly doing so, while his journal entries will share the contradictory thoughts and experiences of a young man stumbling towards a truer notion of his Self. You will also find the opposite, a young man who clings to the roles he was taught as a child, no matter how toxic, as friends and lovers strive to know him better to help him know himself better.
Some of the documents, of course, are (seemingly) mundane—ticket stubs, magazines, form letters—but these documents set the all-important context. Keep in mind that these are: 1) cultural artifacts that connect Zadig to the time/society he lived in, and 2) artifacts that he felt were important to keep at the time that he received them, be it a train ticket in Leipzig, a magazine with President Obama on the cover, or a “Certificate of Achievement” in Kindergarten.
It is important to note that this archive was presented to the viewer uncensored (though at times redacted to protect people’s identities). A careful viewer will quickly discover that “Thomas Zadig” is a pseudonym, and “Zadig Cartwheel” is a persona created by Thomas Zadig. However, all the documents are real and belong to the artist. His real name will appear to the viewer here and there. This is intentional. “Scan & Destroy,” as well as “Significance,” is also about intimacy in a digital era. As Zadig uses this process to unravel and document the past, he is also unlearning false notions of masculinity and unencumbering himself of the analog detritus that resulted from that history. Ironically, his pseudonym makes it possible for him to be fully present and vulnerable to the viewer in a way that presenting work under his legal name would prevent.
Finally, this process of archival digitization occurred at a time when society is changing technologically. We have moved from an analog world to a digital one, and our perception of time and place has changed with it. This is best illustrated by how we document our lives photographically. Rarely do we take analog photos of our daily lives anymore. Digital photography means that we have instant results and that we take many, many, many more photographs. This archive is (mostly) of a time when you had to purchase film, limit yourself to the number of frames available in a roll, and then wait for the film to be developed before knowing what the final image looked like. Time was slower. Place was expanded by the process of development (e.g. driving to the store, handing someone your exposed film, etc.). Even the concept of Self has changed, as reflected by our evolving expectations, roles, goals, etc., which are constructed by Culture and Society, which in turn is shaped by our resources, technology, material surroundings, and more.
