Cyberia City Art Group

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By Per E Riksson
Friendly dictator of Cyberia City

Years of uploaded energy inside my mind got a name in November 1992. The National college of art crafts and design (Konstfack) wanted to do a lecture series about the brave new world of computer games, role playing, fashion and youth culture. Click, went my head and within seconds I told everybody in that conference room about a concept that sprung into my mind that moment. And I baptised it Cyberia, after a VR porn shack in a playboy Tv movie.

We scanned the whole nation after people to partissipate, Professors, PhDs, artists, experts etc. At colleges, game shops, companies, media after any who had something clever to say or show anything about the theme. We missed quite a few, and they sour faced let us know that.

Container fashion from the Fxcked future

As entertainment during the lecture week in feb. 1993, we, the students put together a fashion show inspired by movies like Blade Runner, Mad Max and Max Headroom. Kinky magazines like Skin Two, “O” and Zeitgeist put an extra exiting flavour to our inspirational sources. Sigue Sigue Sputnik was our heroes. Foetus, Ministry, Die Krupps was the sound. A week before opening I got the feeling that something was going on. People that normally don’t bother about our happenings started to call. People that claimed that they were very important and wanted to make a reservation for the opening lecture I was going to have about the subject Cyberpunk aesthetics. Newsweek has had a cover story that week about Cyberpunk. Not since the student revolt 1968 had lectures been so well attended at the old design school Konstfack. Next day we were labelled as Cyberpunks, the new revolution, in the Swedish press. The Fashion show, named the post fashion show was our horrorfying statement. The first show was seen by a crowd of 10 people, with most of them ended up in the crew rest of the week. Next three shows were packed with curious people, and national fashion celebrities. The prestigious news paper Dagens Nyheter made quite a number of it. What an overnight sensation.

Too much too soon

But the fact was that we were not really ready for it. I think as much as we wanted it and loved it, It made us feel miserable and uncomfortable. I could sit and talk to total strangers who were gossiping about Cyberia City, how we sold out to establishment and such crap. They did not like that we were sponsored by Sharp and Amiga (Swedish office). Yes, we had a deal with them, but it was to our benefit. We got the equipment for free. Equipment that was way out of reach for us otherwise. But there was no sell out. Some of the older hacker nerds did not like us because they thought we ridiculous. Yes we were, it was fun. The only hacking we did was to get free porn, that is ridiculous and fun. Cyberia was not only about computer worlds in the future. It was more about sex, booze and techno trash music. The sex was important, kinky and promiscuous, gender bending and annoying to any outsiders.

Fulfilment and disappointment

And as I believed it was over, the next phone call came to take it a bit further. Another show (The Return of Cyberia), more lectures (college tour), art exhibitions (Kulturhuset in Stockholm), new people, more sex, more gender bending, more Vds.

-“Wow this could really sell in New York”, an older American lady claimed at a press conference in front of 40 journalists and 5 TV stations. -Honestly, lady, I don´t think so. The Big Apple scared the shit out of me. I was scanning the ground over there, for something, and got some contacts. But I never dared to fail over there. Its better to keep the dream alive. To many dreams had at that point been fulfilled, with a disappointing result.

The press, word of lies

I stopped counting after 40 articles saying the same, saying it wrong. I soon learned my lesson. It was interesting to deal with that phase of the artistry I had read my musical heroes gone thru. It was an educating experience. So I started to lie to the press. I was telling them that I lied to them, witch didn´t seem to bother them at all.

After the media and press hype, the celebrities, lobbyists and clubs came. And that’s when it started to get really uncomfortable and paranoid. Club Extract was however one of the highlights.

Sex and hate.

I didn´t earn a lot of money on the concept, most of the money was spent on material, stage clothes, equipment and alcohol (to keep all of the participants happy). Some shows included 40 people (try write a raider for that). DJs, strippers, hackers, shop keepers, hang arounds, artists made it look like carnival wherever we showed up. But inside I was fed up with it. We slept with each other and started to build up some tension within the group. Some people was falling out on me about money or their status in the group. The girls was in a way compeating about the ultimate diva status, or in Cyberia termology, Mega Babes (yes we were influenced by master Andy). None of us can be blamed for behaving mature, backstabbing and gory gossip was a part of it. We often made jokes about it. it was like a soap opera. This was ages before Big Brother. We lived it, we loved it and suffer from it. Sanna was the first and original Mega Babe, and in a way loyal for a long time even if we had our difficulties. I liked working with her because she was a true professional in what she did and she charmed everyone in her way.
I was the “Dictator”, the director, it was my idea, and it was my playground. But I did not really realised that at the time.
The rest of the Stockholm art scene hated us, Petrus often remindes me that. He can still not believe all hatred I generated by just do what I/we did. We stole the show wherever we showed up, and that was not good, for their careers. Stockholm art scene at the time was very anxious, to do the wrong thing was out of the question for alot of artists. We deliberately did the wrong thing just for the experiment. Talking to Curators like HÃ¥rleman was a nightmare, and I didn ot cope very well. However the von Hauswolfs (married at the time)semed to like me as a person and payed some respect to my work, and so did Ernst Billgren. But many never did. It was my videoart that was shown on Tv. Not theirs (the scared ones), therefore they shut me out.We did some attempts to officially kill Cyberia on stage, but like Lazarus from his pit, the corpse stod up, ready to go again. The changes came instead of a total transformation of the Cyberia idea.

........................................................... Some Cyberia spectacle worth to mention. Welcome to Cyberia at Konstfack, The return of Cyberia at Sollentuna Fair, C as in Cyberia at Kulturhuset, the dance performance we did at Handelshögskolan and Cyberia makes me wanna…..(produced by gossip magazine editor Nicklas Sessler), Konstfack 150 years at Kulturhuset (my art piece made art critic Lars O Eriksson leave the exhibition, I don’t know why). And Video dreams in Pink aka the one night stand at Kulturhusets 15 year anniversary ..........................................................

MK2 - making history every day.

How brilliant we were arrogant

1995 I started the next step in the Cyberia City saga. I wanted to build it on the internet, Petrus wanted to form a Cyberia rock act to tour the world. We did start Czobot Company but the energy was not enough to make that happened. It was the Internet that were "the shit". A 3D simulated city was launched in 1996 as Terminal City. This time the establishment loved it, but did not understand it. Initiatory it was wonderful. There I was just out of college and very important. WWW was booming and we loved it. There was an air of writing history every day. Us with freaky hair cuts ruling the business preps world. How brilliant we were arrogant. Sponsored by Strata 3D, Bryce and Kai Krauses Power Tools we thought we ruled the world. But doing artwork and a cool interactive city online is not the same as doing business. Business was not our playground. We missed the whole money race out there. TC was never finished and was put to an end 1998 due to lack of funding. The money we earned we should have saved, but we did not. Mk 2 was like the rest of the world at the time in the early days of WWW, more workaholic than a rock n roll life style. Coding, planning and being locked up in an office will distance you from the world of babes, bars and the beauty of art. To counteract that we established TC art nights at hip internet restaurant Intressant (Lounge 52 today) at SoFo in the bohemian part of Stockholm. Rickard Anjin-san then decided to become a professional Tv producer and director. He was one of the guys in the early process of reality TV, like Robinson (in Am. Survival), he later married one of the participants from Villa Medusa. Rickard had dropped out from a career as a Bio scientist to move to Stockholm and do Cyberia video art. The intensity of his new profession at Strix television, made him withdraw the Cyb activities. With the absence of Rickard, Cyberia became more and more HTML orientated.(Rickard and Per is now and then working on a strategy game rule book. And yes, there will be a Cyberia City version of it.)Despite the bar art concept, Terminal City was mostly all work and no play. And that makes Per a dull boy. And that will sooner or later put an end to creativity, the essence of Cyberia City.

On my throne of agony

1998 to 2000 I was in the freeze box, burned out and exhausted. Jonas Birgerson, one of our biggest fans became a billionaire founding Framfab after a meeting where I was arrogant enough to dismiss him as a dork nerd. He was still a Live role player then. There was dork nerds and cool nerds in the Cyberian terminology. The cool nerds we teamed up with, the total losers just like us. I was angry and bitter by then, and I hated the world. How brilliant was not Marilyn Manson when you in such mood.

Mk3, in the era of vanity

2001 I started the official site Cyberiacity.net. A kind of web magazine about the kinky future. From the members (new and old) we formed an art performance group. Sex, kinky and rubber fashion.
One of the main activities in the Mk3 version was the concept of Surgical Underground. Body modification as a stage act, as photo fetish. Based in Linköping the Federal body piercing shop, was a part of the inner circle , like the founders and the early activists.

New organisation

There was a slight change in the Cyb organisation during this time. With MC gangs like the Hells Angels as model, I introduced a supporter, member, inner circle and founder hierarchy. The original idea was that Cyberia was a liquid network more than a organisation, a mix between joyful anarchy and my friendly dictatorship. In the 2000 (the future) an organisation was necessary, at least for me to get somewhere with our activities. The chaos worked as long as we were hip and the phone calls came along with new project offerings. But 2000+, was a battle to gain any attention at all. To organise a naked motor cycle ride, Cyberia style thru Stockholm demanded a bit of organisation. Linkoping got the inner circle status, and Lexx did do some very nice, beautiful and limit crossing work. Beorn took us to places for photo sessions that would not been possible for me. Founders of kinky club Decadance claimed that they had Cyberia City as a model in the upstart of their club, I was invited to go along with them. Well, then they turned into an ordinary "fashion police", kinky club witch made me lose interests.
2004 I gave up the idea of the city.net because of the time it took to produce it, It was suposed to be produced just for fun, not work. The problem was that the "fun" became a burden. The Money I earned on my art at the time was from doing Cyberia cos-plays, cyberia relation games at a Swiss five star hotel (Le Grand Palace) and up in the Swiss alps. employed by a big IT company. I felt I came to an end there. Cyberia always been about exploring, enjoying it and make a fetish of the dark future. The money and the luxury and the sudden relative fame, did things to the new members. I noticed that they could not really handle it. The 2000ies is the era of vanity, and when that strikes, it wrecks the people involved. Cyberia City Mk3 was falling apart and I knew it. The decay had finally catch up with me, and I ended it again.One of the reasons to start and continue Cyb city as as we did, was that, there was nothing like it back then. Today we got J Rock/visual key, Marilyn Manson, kinky/goth/industry clubs and loads of fxcked future play station games. There is little need for us today.

Today

I as an artist wanted to create art under my own name, Per or Pelle (Pelle as some friends call me). Create art on my own, without the limits of the Cyberia framework and all of the spectacle that came with that. In art mythology one have to reinvent oneself to take the next step. I think that is what I try to do. But its hard. I am still confronted by people that was Cyb fans, telling me that I dearranged their views of the future. Insanely enough I inspired a swedish news journalist to start the first separatist guerilla home page on internet for a separatist guerilla somewhere in asia, Indonesia or whatever (Yes im superficial and really dont care). Some years later they got their freedom.

Some people wants me to do it again, the whole Cyberia circus, and sometimes its tempting.

2006 I launched the music project Cyberia City Production. See separate myspace page.

Per E Riksson Dictator of Cyberia City

The people labelled as visible friends below have been in Cyberia City art project through the years. If you were one of us and not are listed, please make contact. Yes, Ministry was an important part of Cyberia City. Not Al and the boys in person, but their music was often associated with us. In the dark trans human future, where the ozone layer ceased to exist, that is enough for a membership.