Set in the rave scene of 90s Berlin, Last Utopia sketches the emotional landscape of an era that was supposed to be liberated, a time when the future was ostentatiously hailed. Yet in between the markers of optimism and progress, the first cracks announcing the permanent crises of today are revealed. Understanding techno as narrative device, this short novella traces echoes of utopian imaginary (Jan Van Eyck Academie).
Last Utopia contains a chapter (in English and Dutch) of Persis Bekkering’s novel Exces (Prometheus, 2021), which she had been working on during her stay at the Jan Van Eyck Academie. The book was designed by fellow resident Martin Groch, using English Egyptian (Abyme, 2017) for the cover and Media for the text.
Martin Groch also produced a series of visuals using English Egyptian to promote Bekkering’s Last Utopia podcast, which deals with rave culture and its utopian potential.
