April 28, 2025
Using technology to explore the ineffable: Marcus dismantles tech-based violence through psychotherapy and art.
Portrait by Malcolm-x Betts. It shows Marcus holding a laptop with both hands in front of his face. There is a second image superimposed over the first one - it’s the same, but lower in opacity.Alumni Profiles is an interview series featuring SFPC alumni who are practicing poetic computation in their communities and work.
Where are you from and where are you living now?
Marcus Brittain Fleming: I grew up in a small town in Minnesota. I recently moved to Los Angeles after living in New York City for a decade.
When did you study at SFPC?
MBF: I did a 10 week intensive in Fall 2018. I was in five courses: Artist Toolkit taught by Taeyoon Choi; Dark Matters taught by American Artist; Scrapism taught by Sam Lavigne; Hardware taught by Che-Wei Wang and Taylor Levy (CW&T); and Recreating the Past taught by Zach Lieberman.
How would you describe your work or practice?
MBF: I am a psychotherapist, artist, and organizer. My therapy practice, Bandwidth Care, supports individuals, families, and organizations with tech-related mental health needs. As an artist, I use dance, zine-making, and social practice art to unite people around tech-related issues. From my granular and psychological work as a therapist to my creative and conspiratorial work as an artist my goal is clear: to bring care work to digital harm in a tender effort to dismantle tech-based violence.
Can you share about a project you made while studying at SFPC?
MBF: Help Desk was my final project for the Fall 2018 showcase. The installation explored the connections between technical troubleshooting, the invisible emotional labor of help desk workers, and psychotherapy.
Photos of Help Desk. The photos depict different details of the instllation, a blue computer screen with the text: Help Desk, and thermal printed receipts named ‘Support Ticket no. x’ clipped on the wall, with different expressions of what users have issues with.What are some other projects you have worked on before or after your time at SFPC?
MBF: “Keeping Tabs: A Manifesto for Teletherapy” was co-created by a dozen teletherapists who gathered in New York City for the workshop “Keeping Tabs: A Workshop for Teletherapists” in May 2024. Dr. Romayne Gad el Rab and I co-facilitated the space. The workshop - sponsored by Data and Society and backed by this report by Livia Garofalo - provided a moment for mental health workers and social science researchers to explore how teletherapy has altered the way clinicians treat their patients, make a living, and care for themselves.
The manifesto “Keeping Tabs: A manifesto for Teletherapists”. There are 11 hopes and demands explained and written out.In 2022, I gathered with other artists and activists to form a collective critique of Web 3. The idea for this project, “Web 3, Are We OK?”, was prompted after I received $15,000 from the Stacks Foundation to make an NFT project. Given my qualms about the industry, I decided to use this money to support a space for people to exchange honest questions, learnings, and emotions about the frenzied development of Web 3. Co-organizers of this project included Rachel Simanjuntak, Jazsalyn, Alice Yuan Zhang, Kola Heyward-Rotimi, and Liz Mputu. Through our collective efforts, we called on dozens of other artists and cultural workers to plan a collective response to the problematic aspects of these new technologies grounded in our own needs and desires, which culminated in a live zine-making event in our own New Art City space.
Photos from the workshops “Keeping Tabs: A Workshop for Teletherapists”. In the first image, we see flashcards distributed around the table. On the second image, we see a woman adding a post-it to a blackboard filled with colored post-its.How do you define poetic computation?
MBF: Using technology to explore the ineffable or the ineffable to explore technology.
What is something you learned at SFPC that has stayed with you in your practice?
MBF: American Artist’s course was a game changer for me. The course opened my eyes to the fact that the hardware and software we see today were created to uphold various oppressive forces. As a therapist, I now integrate this perspective into my work with clients who find themselves triggered, burnt out, and re-traumatized by their tech use/work.
Selfies of Marcus before teletherapy sessions over the past 5 years.Who is an artist, scholar, political organizer, scientist or leader who inspires you?
MBF: I am inspired by the many people I have done therapeutic work with over the years. I am often overwhelmed by the gratitude I feel in moments when people are really showing up for themselves in therapy. Though it seems rote for therapists to say “thank you” at the end of sessions, I find myself really leaning into these moments of gratitude. It’s really tough out here - but the power to connect and collaborate through it all is still strong - which inspires me everyday.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
MBF: Yes! Bandwidth Care is going to host some therapy groups in the near future. The groups will be virtually available for California and New York residents. I’ll accept some insurances and sliding scale fees as low as $10 per person per group. Reach out via email or visit my website to learn more + keep an eye out for more info.
Photo of Marcus at his therapy office in L.A.