Dual Power

Concept

Dual Power is an interactive installation that explores the tension between competing ideologies and power structures. Inspired by the political concept of dual power, originally articulated during the Russian Revolution, it refers to the coexistence of two separate powers vying for legitimacy [1]. This piece extends the metaphor by navigating the push-pull dynamics between decentralization and centralization, the people and the state, autonomy, and control.

Participants engage with the piece through a web interface, choosing between ideologically opposed concepts. Each choice serves as a microcosm of larger societal currents. These choices illuminate two bulbs in the gallery—the brightness of each bulb varying in real-time, reflecting the collective inclinations of the participants.

Dual Power draws on the concept of binary oppositions in political theory, where opposing forces simultaneously support and contradict each other, a theme prevalent in the works of Marxist theoreticians and scholars–dialectical materialism[2]. This installation probes these dualities and challenges the neoliberal ideas of individualism by highlighting the power of collective decision-making in a digitally mediated environment[3].

References

• Lenin, V. I. “Dual Power.” Collected Works, vol. 24, Progress Publishers, 1964, pp. 38-41.
• Hegel, G. W. F. “Phenomenology of Spirit.” Oxford University Press, 1977.
• Hayek, F. A. “The Use of Knowledge in Society.” American Economic Review, vol. 35, no. 4, 1945, pp. 519-530.

Dual Power