Totally Wreck delivers cosmic insight surrounding the universe’s post-apocalyptic visions and supernatural obsessions. Through the creation of impulsive, ephemeral experiments, works, and conceptual characters, Totally Wreck aims to understand the organic and virtual identities that hold the power to channel curious behavioral patterns from the unknown.
Totally Wreck is a collective of disco cyber-low-tech children relating realities through mythology, science fiction and fact, fantasy, metaphysics, spirituality, technology, and the idiosyncrasies of cultures and lifestyles. Collectively, we express the tension between our optimism about the future and the impending doom that surrounds us. Individually, we speak through the identities we have constructed by tapping into the invisible dialogue between our imperfect DNA, the grander environment of the universe, and the anxiety and brilliance of sentience.
Totally Wreck embraces the art of recombination. Like interstellar scavengers sifting through the cosmic Kipple, we collect material and immaterial artifacts, invading exhibition spaces, dilapidated houses, alleyways, Laundromats, theaters, bars, clubs, and other urban wastelands of planet Earth, constructing and testing our sensory and hallucinatory experiments.
Totally Wreck has an ice cream truck equipped with anti-radiation plastic fibers and a supply of mega- dense nutritional rations suitable for ten years of sustainable living. If and when total destruction occurs, Totally Wreck will be there to guide any survivors away from despair with the hypnotic and totally blasphemous chill of post-human comfort pops. In the meantime, Totally Wreck is actively dormant, like a warning sign. Totally Wreck is totally creepy and totally caring. Totally Wreck exists only in your imagination. Totally Wreck promises future health care benefits and omnipotence for all. Totally Wreck is immortality.
To put it simply, Totally Wreck is a collective of young multimedia artists based in Austin, Texas.
However…
What Totally Wreck or The Foundation for Human Possibilities or Totally TV Production Institute is or isn’t is still a matter of confusion, even between its so-called ‘founders.’
Since its meager crowd started to gather under the collective umbrella in 2003, a close knit group of a few organized art shows at houses and alternative spaces, held countless impromptu public concerts and performance nights, and organized fringe cultural events. We were recognized as somewhat of a cultural force by another arts organization when the Austin Museum of Digital Ar (AMODA) asked us to co-curate their “Digital Showcase 39.” Now in it’s 3rd wave of redevelopment, we are aiming to achieve new heightened understanding of all the possibilities of a group energy and our potential for maximum human possibilities.
As for the future we are still continuing to hold art events and musical gatherings, but will also be developing online television programming covering youth, music, film, technology, and amazing ideas in general. We hope not to be limited to what we think we can or can’t do, but to try everything we love, from electronic performance installations to clothing design or fringe/B/modern/subcultural cult promotion. We are an omni-directional possibility conduit for the promotion of positive being.
Totally Wreck’s current members are Ben Aqua, Johnny Cisneros, Mark Hensel, Mike Ruiz, David Salinas, Eli Welbourne, and Lanneau White.
Ben Aqua was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He earned a BFA in Design from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005, and currently lives and works in Austin, TX. His work has been exhibited at Arthouse at the Jones Center, the Austin Museum of Digital Art, as well as group exhibitions in Japan and the UK. Ben has also performed at the South by South West Music Festival (Austin, TX) in 2005 and 2007, as well as the Homo A Go Go Festival (Olympia, WA) in 2006.
Johnny Cisneros (2007 Arthouse Texas Prize Nominee) graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006 with a BFA in Studio Art. Him, Mike Ruiz (BFA Photography at St. Edwards) Eli Welbourne have been performers and artists in two Austin Museum of Digital Art Digital Showcases 33 and 39, co-curating, organizing, and participating in the latter in October 2006. They organized “Tetranomicon,” an art and music extravaganza at the House of Crystal Mexico in September 2006, and also curated and organized “The Wreckoning,” an all Totally Wreck art exhibit at the Fresh Up Clup in September 2006. They were featured in “Heydays” at the Creative Research Laboratory in October 2004.
David Salinas and Lanneau White are current students at the University of Texas at Austin (BA Radio-Television-Film and BA English, Minor in Theater and Dance, and BFA Studio Art, respectively). Mark Hensel graudated in 2006 with a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas in Austin. David Salinas was exhibited in Uncinema, an Austin experimental film showcase in December 2005, and Luminocity, a Austin video installation showcase in April 2006. David Salinas and Lanneau White were showcased in the opening ceremonies of CinemaTexas 2007, exhibiting their triple projection video performance “Age of Omnibeast.” They were featured in the Austin Chronicle Screens section on September 15, 2006. They also exhibited in Austin Museum of Art Digital Showcase 39 in October 2006. David Salinas, Lanneau White, and Mark Hensel have performed under Neo-Arcadia at Flatbed press and Everyone Knows Everyone at Emo’s Lounge Sponsored by The Onion in June 2007. Neo-Arcadia and Totally Wreck combined their strengths and headlined the 2007 Fusebox Festival in Austin Texas for thee nights in April 2007.
