Throwing Exceptional Messages

‘Throwing Exceptional Messages’ is a performative work that frames theoretical critique as practice in a gallery setting. The work uses a deconstructive methodology derived from Jacque Derrida’s practice of ‘sous rature’ to perform critique upon a particular moment in the historical formation of the field of ‘codework.’ The term codework was established in 2001 and attempted to describe literary works that were developed from or included elements of computer code. The taxonomy of this field, formalised by Alan Sondheim, was contested by John Cayley on the basis that ‘non-executable’ work should not be included into the field as ‘code’ referred to as ‘executable’ text. By bringing the thesis of this research into the gallery space the performer uses the theoretical methodology as a practical methodology to produce critical artefacts. The thesis is placed under erasure within a system that produces computational ‘exceptions’ or ‘non-executables’ as work. These exceptional texts are ‘caught’ and ‘handled’ within the performance as a mode of production and are transformed into physical ‘objects’to be ‘thrown’ into the space. The resulting exceptional texts are developed from this codework divide yet they can no longer be read along these terms.