Solomon’s Carpet

Solomon’s Carpet is a mixed-media artwork that combines visual art and poetry to reflect on contemporary forms of interconnectedness, power, and collective life. The

artwork and the poem are inseparable; together, they narrate a single story.

 

Both visually and poetically, the piece begins by foregrounding human interconnectedness. This sense of entanglement sets the tone for the central question: Why, despite

unprecedented technological and economic advancement, does the soul remain blue? This question points toward a structural tension in contemporary systems—

namely, the relentless optimization of economic outcomes while navigating moral gray zones in pursuit of return.

 

This critique becomes explicit through the notion of algorithmic collusion. Lines such as “In their rules, in their bytes, in their price, collude” allude to emerging concerns

in which organizations, relying on shared data infrastructures and optimization algorithms, implicitly coordinate outcomes without overt communication. Here, collusion is not conspiratorial but infrastructural—embedded in data and algorithms. The metaphor “the pig has a big mouth, but no eyes” further captures this logic, evoking systems that optimize algorithmically while remaining structurally blind to the effects of their interventions on human well-being, societal values, and the planet.

 

The poem then proposes a counter-movement: collusion on the collective side. Rather than rejecting systems altogether, it imagines new forms of shared agency—consumer unions, collective data ownership, and claims over the rights of minds that generate, process, and are shaped by business optimizations. In this sense, collusion is reclaimed as solidarity rather than exploitation.

 

The closing verses introduce hope. Drawing on spiritual, mythical, and poetic traditions, the work insists that after hardship comes ease, and that from generosity and collective movement, something new can rise. References to Simorgh, Rostam, and Afrasiab embed the piece within a longer history of resistance, revolution, and

rebirth—suggesting that contemporary struggles with digital systems are part of a much older human story.

 

Solomon’s Carpet carries the spirit of unity, transformation, and renewal. It does not reject technology or systems outright. Instead, it asks how they might be reimagined and governed differently—so that processes designed for optimization can also sustain human and collective well-being rather than erode it.

​

Artwork Location: Conference Hall 1