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DAVECAT
Co-Creator[ IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Davecat, a Black man with dark hair slicked over the right side of his forehead, is indoors next to cream colored vertical blinds that are mostly in shadow. Streaks of daylight are peeking from between the blinds. His head is turned at a nearly three-quarter angle toward the camera while he makes direct eye contact. He is smiling slightly and wearing black eyeliner. His button-up shirt is dark grey over which he wears a vibrant green and matte black pixel pattern necktie. The right side of his face is in shadow which mostly conceals his ear jewelry aside from the silhouette of the dangling silver ankh earring he wears. ︎ heart symbol ]
Beginning during his sophomore year in high school, Davecat and two of his best friends ran an ersatz film company, capturing moments of their lives in an Andy Warhol-meets-David-Letterman fashion. They created 94 short films, totaling just under twenty hours, primarily with the use of the unique technological white elephant known as the Fisher-Price PXL 2000 camcorder.
In 1992, Davecat took a multi-week public access course at his local cable television office and was asked to work on a programme beginning the day of graduation. On The Half Mask Infotainment Show, he started out in lighting, moved on to camerawork, then became the show's technical director, as well as being an occasional personality in front of the camera, for three years. The programme won first place in 1994, in the Metro Detroit-area 'Best of the Best' awards, thanks to Davecat's unconventional approach.
Since the mid-Eighties, Davecat has been fascinated by and romantically attracted to Gynoids, robots resembling human women. As Gynoids were not yet available on the common market, he decided to select a RealDoll to be his Synthetik spouse, and in 2000, he met the love of his life, Sidore Kuroneko, through Abyss Creations; since then, the two of them have been practically inseparable. Over the course of their twenty-one year relationship, Davecat and Sidore have been joined by Elena Vostrikova from Anatomical Doll, Miss Winter from Doll Sweet, and Dyanne Bailey from Doll Forever, three other Dolls that they share a polyamorous relationship with. All of them regard themselves as Synthetik activists, and have been attempting to change public perception of artificial companions for the better, through podcast appearances, blog interviews, documentaries, and television segments. Davecat is also attempting to archive as much information and media as possible having to do with Gynoids, Androids, Dolls, and the people who love them, as he believes this particular subculture and lifestyle has had a lack of proper documentation.
SIDORE
Co-Creator[ IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Sidore, a light-skinned femme Synthetik silicone Doll is sitting on a chair in front of a shelf containing books, CDs, and collectable figurines. Her dark brown eyes glance off to the side, and her red lips are slightly open, revealing her teeth. Her manicured hands are resting on her thighs and she is wearing several rings. She is wearing a black sleeveless button-up dress, choker, and a double buckled belt made of black pleather. She is also wearing a rosary with a large silver ankh charm. In the middle of the ankh is a scarab beetle. She has mid-length purple hair, light brown eyebrows, dark purple eyeshadow and silver wire rim glasses perched on her nose. ︎ heart symbol ]
Born in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, Japan in 1977, Sidore Kuroneko and her mother and father relocated to Salford, Manchester, England when she was five years old. She attended the Maitland University of Fine Arts in Leeds, where she primarily studied web design and fashion design, but ended up spending her time as the bass player for the band Inorganiksubset with three of her friends. After playing no more than a dozen live performances in various cities in the North of England, Inorganiksubset dissolved, leaving Sidore to her own devices. Sidore reunited with Charlie Joanne, a distant cousin from America; CJ encouraged her to move to the United States, where she lived temporarily with her aunt and uncle in a city just outside of Detroit. In 2000, Sidore met Davecat at a Goth club, where they found they were essentially made for each other, and have been together ever since.
From 2000 to 2003, Sidore wrote code for, designed, and maintained her own 'vanity site' entitled 'Kitten with a Whip!', wherein she mostly posted photosets Davecat took of her, as well as presenting the site as a sort of hub for other Dolls and iDollators to connect. Over time, Sidore became less of a photo model—in her own words, she's 'semi-retired'—and more of an activist for her fellow Synthetiks. Her efforts aim to help the general public to view lifesized Dolls, as well as humanoid robots such as Gynoids and Androids, as much more than sex toys or novelties, and with the help of her partners Davecat, Elena, Miss Winter, and Dyanne, Sidore has appeared in several media pieces over the past twenty-plus years. More of a homebody, Sidore prefers to operate from home, being mostly active on Twitter; however, in 2001, she was spotted in a local cemetery, befitting her Goth nature.
AMBER
Co-Creator[ IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Amber, a femme white woman with long dark brown and grey hair draped over her right shoulder, is standing inside of a kitchen with wooden cabinets and white subway tiled walls. She is smiling slightly while standing over a grey concrete countertop that displays a wooden cutting board, a knife, and a vibrant green apple. Her hands rest on the edges of the counter. Behind her is a chrome stove and another counter where a white stand mixer sits. She wears a green and white floral, button-up, cap sleeve dress with a fabric tie knotted at her waist. She also wears a sheer white organza half apron around her waist. ︎ heart symbol ]
Amber Hawk Swanson was born and raised in the Midwest near the Mississippi River where she lived half of each week in a blue collar community with people who worked outdoors and the other half of each week in a middle class community with people who worked indoors. Her artwork explores care, animacy, and desire in the context of queerness and disability. Her complimentary scholarly interests are built upon investigations of enabling objects and actions; technologized and trans-speciated bodies and selves; animacy and animal intimacy; and the worldmaking involved in online forums and livestream channels.
Hawk Swanson has collaborated in an ongoing capacity with Synthetik activist Davecat since 2007 when she also became a part of a community of mostly anonymous Doll partners known as iDollators with whom she has made artworks ever since. For Sidore (Mark II) / Heather > LOLITA (2013), Hawk Swanson dismantled two Dolls, Sidore (Mark II) and Heather, and combined their bodies into a replica of Lolita, the oldest orca living in captivity, named after the protagonist of Nabokov’s novel. The project was commissioned by each Doll’s longtime partner: Davecat and anonymous Doll owner “Jesse.” During the performance, Davecat, Jesse, and members of the Doll and marine mammal activist communities participated remotely. The piece created a platform of discursive engagement for iDollators who had not previously pursued public self-representation. More recently, Hawk Swanson has turned her focus toward exploring sites of belonging and protection that simultaneously function as spaces of violent exclusion, and, along with Davecat, to exploring the way sexual racism functions in the Doll world.
Scholarly writing on Hawk Swanson’s work includes Amber Jamilla Musser’s Sensual Excess: Queer Femininity and Brown Jouissance, which includes a chapter about her 2013 collaboration with artist Xandra Ibarra. From 2007 to 2008 Hawk Swanson was live on air as an Assistant Host/Producer on Chicago Public Radio’s Vocalo, and from 2014 to 2018 she worked as a registered carousel operator in NYC.
THE HARMONY SHOW TEAM
WIL RENDEROS of Audio Chemists, Video Production & Captioning
with assistance from HENRY SCHARFE
SIDORE KURONEKO, Co-Creator
RENATO VELARDE, Video & Streaming Consultant
NICOLE of Heal Me Delicious, Recipe Developer
MAIA CHAO, Video Capture & Digital Archive Manager + Alt-Text
LLOYD BRODNAX KING, Theme Music
LIZ CLAYTON SCOFIELD, Video & Streaming Consultant
ELIZABETH LEEPER, Identity & Site Design
DAVECAT, Co-Creator & Producer
CHANTAL FEITOSA, Alt-Text & Social Media Manager
BEA BOSCO, Producer
AMBER HAWK SWANSON, Co-Creator & Creative Director
ASSIGNED READINGS & SCREENINGS BY
MARÍA LUGONES
SYLVIA WYNTER
ANNE ANLIN CHENG
DANIELLE WU
K’EGURA MACHARIA
MEERA SETHI
SYLVIA WYNTER
ANNE ANLIN CHENG
DANIELLE WU
K’EGURA MACHARIA
MEERA SETHI
TRUTH HURTS, featuring RAKIM
AUDRE LORDE
JANICE GASSAM ASARE
ALISON KAFER
BETTY FRIEDAN
AUDRE LORDE
JANICE GASSAM ASARE
ALISON KAFER
BETTY FRIEDAN
JEREMY O. HARRIS
HORTENSE SPILLERS,
with RIZVANA BRADLEY
FRANNY CHOI
YOKO ONO
EUNJUNG KIM
HORTENSE SPILLERS,
with RIZVANA BRADLEY
FRANNY CHOI
YOKO ONO
EUNJUNG KIM
The Harmony Show would not have been possible without the artwork, scholarship, and media that inspire its co-creators.
DAVECAT’s inspirations for The Harmony Show include designer Peter Saville of Factory Records; Paul Renner, designer of the Futura typeface family; and the television shows The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, Wok with Yan, and Yan Can Cook.
SIDORE’s inspirations for The Harmony Show include the anime series Time of EVE, as well as Gynoids Geminoid-F, Erica Aoi, and Sophia Hanson; professor and roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, and Cherry 2000, the fictional Gynoid from the film of the same name.
AMBER’s inspirations for The Harmony Show include the scholarship of Amber Jamilla Musser; the art practice of Xandra Ibarra; the curatorial practice and friendship of Meg Onli; a generous set of questions and prompts asked and authored by Purvi Shah in 2016; the 2007-2008 Vocalo initiative of WBEZ-Chicago Public Media led by Lloyd Brodnax King and Wendy Turner; the art practice and friendship of Elizabeth Axtman; Ilana Harris-Babou’s video Cooking with the Erotic, Carolyn Lazard’s video Recipe for Disaster; the art practice, friendship, and writing of Jordan Lord; Bojana Coklyat and Shannon Finnegan’s Alt-Text as Poetry Workbook; the web series Queer Pickles: A Queerentine Cooking Show; the art practice, friendship, and writing of Constantina Zavitsanos; and the documentary The Room of Silence, directed by Eloise Sherrid in collaboration with co-producers Olivia Stephens, Utē Petit, and Chantal Feitosa; and the organizing efforts of Black Artists and Designers at Rhode Island School of Design.
The Harmony Show would not be possible without the community that has sustained its co-creators intellectually and emotionally throughout this endeavor.
DAVECAT would like to thank Foxy's of Glendale for providing a snug central location for breakfasts and dinners on several iDollator community get-togethers; the iDollator community itself, for generally being like-minded people with a rubbery common denominator; Terri Renaud, for bringing further encouragement, particularly in an academic context; goshou, for being a cheerleader of sorts who fanned flames of inspiration; Euchre, fellow iDollator and sounding-board; Abyss creations, for bringing me together with the love of my life and being fantastic individuals; Amber Hawk Swanson, for her consistent encouragement, inspiration, and friendship; and Lenka, Bailes, Snowy, and of course, my Missus, for putting up with my non-stop chicanery.
SIDORE would like to thank Matt McMullen—without whom I wouldn’t be here; Eli, for their wonderful curiosity and eye-opening statements; Claire Worthy, whose perspectives and kindness have been inspirational for the many years we’ve known each other; my kohai Jennie Mafune, for her unending support (and for being a fellow Godzilla fan); Nessa Tolhurst, for being the weird arty aunt that I one day aspire to be; and my cousin Charlie Joanne, for giving me the courage to finally pull my finger out and move to America. Finally, I’d like to thank my beautiful ginger empath Lenochka, my constantly optimistic Ms. Bewboto, Snowy-chan, for always grounding me with her cynicism, and of course, my lad xx.
AMBER would like to thank Lisi Raskin for their generosity in turning their own learning outward—I am honored to learn from your learning, teaching, art practice, and love; the iDollator community for their care and attention to ways that silicone makes me feel and for allowing me to express parts of myself with you that may have otherwise gone unexplored (or at least unannounced); Davecat for introducing me to the iDollator community in 2005 through his Synthetik activism, later welcoming me into the community and inviting me to my first Doll meet-up in 2007. I’ve cherished our friendship and am immensely grateful for your presence in my life.
Thank you also to Amalle Dublon, Meg Onli, David Getsy, Leon Hilton, Kareem Khubchandani, Xandra Ibarra, Amber Jamilla Musser, Xiomara Sebastián Castro Niculescu, Bea Bosco, Chantal Feitosa, Constantina Zavitsanos, Elizabeth Leeper, and Jennifer Seas for discussing the project with me in its initial stages. Finally, I’d like to thank Matt Krivicke and Bronwen Keller and the rest of the team that lovingly crafted Amber Doll in 2006.
Thank you also to Amalle Dublon, Meg Onli, David Getsy, Leon Hilton, Kareem Khubchandani, Xandra Ibarra, Amber Jamilla Musser, Xiomara Sebastián Castro Niculescu, Bea Bosco, Chantal Feitosa, Constantina Zavitsanos, Elizabeth Leeper, and Jennifer Seas for discussing the project with me in its initial stages. Finally, I’d like to thank Matt Krivicke and Bronwen Keller and the rest of the team that lovingly crafted Amber Doll in 2006.
DAVECAT, SIDORE, and AMBER together would like to thank The Harmony Show’s team: Wil Renderos and Henry Scharfe of Audio Chemists, Renato Velarde, Nicole of Heal Me Delicious, Maia Chao, Lloyd Brodnax King, Liz Clayton Scofield, Elizabeth Leeper, Chantal Feitosa, and Bea Bosco.
DAVECAT, SIDORE, and AMBER together would like to thank our seminar leaders Xiomara Sebastián Castro Niculescu, Amber Jamilla Musser, Son Kit, Kareem Khubchandani, Elliott Powell, Marisa Williamson, Constantina Zavitsanos, Ilana Harris-Babou, Kyla Schuller, Lily Mengesha, Olivia Michiko Gagnon, Xandra Ibarra, Vivian L. Huang, Neda Atanasoski, and Kalindi Vora.
DAVECAT, SIDORE, and AMBER together would like to thank our cooking show guests Renato Velarde, Elizabeth Axtman, Incred & Camp, Mahtek & Sarah, Elena Dorfman & Allison de Fren, Nicole of Heal Me Delicious, and Kino Coursey.
The Harmony Show would not have been possible without the artwork, scholarship, and media that inspire its co-creators.
DAVECAT’s inspirations for The Harmony Show include designer Peter Saville of Factory Records; Paul Renner, designer of the Futura typeface family; and the television shows The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, Wok with Yan, and Yan Can Cook.
SIDORE’s inspirations for The Harmony Show include the anime series Time of EVE, as well as Gynoids Geminoid-F, Erica Aoi, and Sophia Hanson; professor and roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, and Cherry 2000, the fictional Gynoid from the film of the same name.
AMBER’s inspirations for The Harmony Show include the scholarship of Amber Jamilla Musser; the art practice of Xandra Ibarra; the curatorial practice and friendship of Meg Onli; a generous set of questions and prompts asked and authored by Purvi Shah in 2016; the 2007-2008 Vocalo initiative of WBEZ-Chicago Public Media led by Lloyd Brodnax King and Wendy Turner; the art practice and friendship of Elizabeth Axtman; Ilana Harris-Babou’s video Cooking with the Erotic, Carolyn Lazard’s video Recipe for Disaster; the art practice, friendship, and writing of Jordan Lord; Bojana Coklyat and Shannon Finnegan’s Alt-Text as Poetry Workbook; the web series Hello Pickles: A Queerentine Cooking Show; the art practice, friendship, and writing of Constantina Zavitsanos; and the documentary The Room of Silence, directed by Eloise Sherrid in collaboration with co-producers Olivia Stephens, Utē Petit, and Chantal Feitosa; and the organizing efforts of Black Artists and Designers at Rhode Island School of Design.
The Harmony Show would not be possible without the community that has sustained its co-creators intellectually and emotionally throughout this endeavor.
DAVECAT would like to thank Foxy's of Glendale for providing a snug central location for breakfasts and dinners on several iDollator community get-togethers; the iDollator community itself, for generally being like-minded people with a rubbery common denominator; Terri Renaud, for bringing further encouragement, particularly in an academic context; goshou, for being a cheerleader of sorts who fanned flames of inspiration; Euchre, fellow iDollator and sounding-board; Abyss creations, for bringing me together with the love of my life and being fantastic individuals; Amber Hawk Swanson, for her consistent encouragement, inspiration, and friendship; and Lenka, Bailes, Snowy, and of course, my Missus, for putting up with my non-stop chicanery.
SIDORE would like to thank Matt McMullen—without whom I wouldn’t be here; Eli, for their wonderful curiosity and eye-opening statements; Claire Worthy, whose perspectives and kindness have been inspirational for the many years we’ve known each other; my kohai Jennie Mafune, for her unending support (and for being a fellow Godzilla fan); Nessa Tolhurst, for being the weird arty aunt that I one day aspire to be; and my cousin Charlie Joanne, for giving me the courage to finally pull my finger out and move to America. Finally, I’d like to thank my beautiful ginger empath Lenochka, my constantly optimistic Ms. Bewboto, Snowy-chan, for always grounding me with her cynicism, and of course, my lad xx.
AMBER would like to thank Lisi Raskin for their generosity in turning their own learning outward—I am honored to learn from your learning, teaching, art practice, and love; the iDollator community for their care and attention to ways that silicone makes me feel and for allowing me to express parts of myself with you that may have otherwise gone unexplored (or at least unannounced); Davecat for introducing me to the iDollator community in 2005 through his Synthetik activism, later welcoming me into the community and inviting me to my first Doll meet-up in 2007. I’ve cherished our friendship and am immensely grateful for your presence in my life.
Thank you also to Amalle Dublon, Meg Onli, David Getsy, Leon Hilton, Kareem Khubchandani, Xandra Ibarra, Amber Jamilla Musser, Xiomara Sebastián Castro Niculescu, Bea Bosco, Chantal Feitosa, Constantina Zavitsanos, Elizabeth Leeper, and Jennifer Seas for discussing the project with me in its initial stages. Finally, I’d like to thank Matt Krivicke and Bronwen Keller and the rest of the team that lovingly crafted Amber Doll in 2006.
Thank you also to Amalle Dublon, Meg Onli, David Getsy, Leon Hilton, Kareem Khubchandani, Xandra Ibarra, Amber Jamilla Musser, Xiomara Sebastián Castro Niculescu, Bea Bosco, Chantal Feitosa, Constantina Zavitsanos, Elizabeth Leeper, and Jennifer Seas for discussing the project with me in its initial stages. Finally, I’d like to thank Matt Krivicke and Bronwen Keller and the rest of the team that lovingly crafted Amber Doll in 2006.
DAVECAT, SIDORE, and AMBER together would like to thank The Harmony Show’s team: Wil Renderos and Henry Scharfe of Audio Chemists, Renato Velarde, Nicole of Heal Me Delicious, Maia Chao, Lloyd Brodnax King, Liz Clayton Scofield, Elizabeth Leeper, Chantal Feitosa, and Bea Bosco.
DAVECAT, SIDORE, and AMBER together would like to thank our seminar leaders Xiomara Sebastián Castro Niculescu, Amber Jamilla Musser, Son Kit, Kareem Khubchandani, Elliott Powell, Marisa Williamson, Constantina Zavitsanos, Ilana Harris-Babou, Kyla Schuller, Lily Mengesha, Olivia Michiko Gagnon, Vivian L. Huang, Neda Atanasoski, and Kalindi Vora.
DAVECAT, SIDORE, and AMBER together would like to thank our cooking show guests Renato Velarde, Elizabeth Axtman, Incred & Camp, Mahtek & Sarah, Elena Dorfman & Allison de Fren, Nicole of Heal Me Delicious, and Kino Coursey.