Between Worlds: Technology, Spirit & The Digital South

a research investigation curated by Mekhala Dave & Brooklyn J. Pakathi

Invoking ancestral knowledge through tools of modern technology and spaces of virtuality, what new possibilities do we see for our shared futures? Centered around the pioneering artistic praxis and aesthetics emerging from the Digital South, this presentation is a curatorial research

Between Worlds: Technology, Spirit & The Digital South as a research presentation documents an ongoing investigation by the researcher/curator duo Mekhala Dave & Brooklyn J. Pakathi, exploring how ancestral (Indigenous, communal, spiritual) knowledge systems can fundamentally reshape our understanding and use of modern technology. Through fieldwork, conversations with artists, and curatorial interpretations, the duo investigates how traditional ways of knowing—from mythmaking to dreaming and manifestation, communal relations to nature, and collective care practices—can offer alternative frameworks for technological innovation. Their research challenges the dominant narrative that positions technology primarily as a tool for efficiency and progress, instead exploring how it might serve as a medium for deeper connection and cultural continuity.

By dissolving the lines of separation based on Western ideological narratives of rationality, scientific thinking, and capitalist logic—which aid in fragmenting knowledge and detaching us—this presentation offers a shift in weaving complex layers of relations, deepening the understanding of our environments. The duo’s methodology combines curatorial research with artistic practice, creating an approach that moves beyond conventional academic study. Using the exhibition space as a site of methodological inquiry for experiential encounters, they examine the interfacing of ancient methodologies with modern technological tools of innovation, where place-based knowledge and ancestral wisdom conjure spaces of intimacy between humans and all life forms that sustain us.

Featuring a selection of text excerpts, artistic “making of” and fragments of artistic process, the display presents a methodology for thinking through and with the physical, spiritual, and virtual realms of being.

Central to their research is the question of how different cultural understandings of time, space, and consciousness might inform new or differing approaches to digital innovation. The duo examines how practices like communal storytelling, ritual, and traditional ecological knowledge offer sophisticated models for processing information and creating meaning—models that could transform how we design and use technology.

Beyond the techno-cultures of extractivism which privilege competition and monopolies of resources, this presentation aspires to hark upon the past in order to envision a more equitable future, one not based on Western ideals of progression and development but rather on communal collective care and heritage preservation. Combining intuition, reflexivity, and research, it invites us to explore diverse rhythms of sensibilities and sacred pulses of connection to provoke immersive dialogues of transcendental, fluid, and embodied journeys.

Between Worlds outlines their investigation into technological futures that prioritize:

• Knowledge systems that embrace cycles rather than linear progress
• Technology development guided by traditional wisdom and community needs
• Digital tools that support rather than extract from traditional practices
• Ways of knowing that connect rather than fragment our understanding of the world
• Approaches to innovation that consider the sacred and spiritual dimensions of human experience

With thoughts, conversations, excerpts and fragments from:
Omar Mohammad
Diane Cescutti
Shirin Fahimi
Nkhensani Mkhari
Banji Chona
King Debs
Yatreda
Vitória Cribb
Kialy Tihngang
Pierre Christop Gam
FreakyGreenFish - Luca Mussnig