Haus Nostromo Presents

EXQUISITE CORPSE

Experimental storytelling from the collective unconscious

Presenting our Exquisite Corpse! A collective storytelling exercise inspired by the Surrealist tradition.

How this works

We’ll post the beginning of a story below. Beneath this opening extract is a form you can complete to submit your idea for the next part, following on from our words. We shall then select a submission at random (every 24 hours) and then the process shall repeat until the tale is told across 10 installments! We can then all follow the story as it unfurls/unravels, witnessing the evolution of the monster we’ve created together, as we bend the tale to our collective will with each turn/refresh of the page.

History of the Exquisite Corpse 

Conjured up in the 1920’s by artist André Breton and known in French as ’cadavre exquis’, Exquisite Corpse was a technique employed to unlock the unconscious, encouraging an imagination, uninhibited. The consequence was a result of collective creativity, showing art, in theory, with no bounds, free of the limitations we face as individuals.

Our own version of this Exquisite Corpse method shall be an exercise in communal storytelling, but rather than keeping the previous parts concealed, we have decided to keep all approved contributions visible throughout the process, an exquisite corpse without the shroud. 

With this we hope to be left with a piece of prose that’s slightly less nonsensical than the Surrealists originally suggested, whilst keeping the creative, anarchic spirit of said corpse very much alive. 

Our vision

In an age of AI where content is generated by machines and humanity and creativity is increasingly threatened by computers churning out digital slop, this is our analogue antidote to the current epoch, inviting you to contribute to the exquisite corpse, our version of human slop, if you will. 

With this in mind, we kindly ask for all submissions for these stories to be taken from the dark recesses of your own mind, using your own power and imagination, conscious or otherwise. This is also a safe space for like-minded souls, so it should go without saying that Haus Nostromo is no place for hate speech or discriminatory comments. 

Together, we hope to craft dream-like narratives shaped by our community. We hope that united we can explore the art of storytelling and collaboration, and we welcome all members of the Haus Nostromo community to join us in telling these tales.

Our plan for the future should this whole idea resonate, will be to eventually collect and publish the results in our very own community zine featuring illustrations and redux/alternative versions of stories using previously unselected submissions to explore the very different paths our collective unconscious can take.

Teamwork makes the dream work. Dreamwork makes the team work.

PART TWO COMING SOON...

PART ONE
"VISIONS OF DECAY"

Our first short story has been told! Follow the link below to read "Visions of Decay" a tale of dread and discovery that unfolds in the long, dark shadow of a rotting mill.