Runway Journal acknowledges the custodians of the nations our digital platform reaches. We extend this acknowledgement to all First Nations artists, writers and audiences.
Guest Editor: Justine Youssef
Editors: Ena Grozdanic, Victoria Pham, Debris Facility, Varsha Ramesh, Myranda Thomas, Madeleine Martin, Anneka Scholtz
Digital Producers: Athanasios Lazarou, Thomas Capogreco, Giana Festa, Jayden Fisher, Yanti Peng, Amy Yu
Cover Page: Yanti Peng
Issue 49: BloomPublished August 2025
In 2075, the internet as we know it has collapsed. The new closed web network, SoleWeb, is heavily monitored, policed and censored serving to maintain the hegemony of the techno-oligarchy. The environment has been ravaged by the influx of AI GPU farms, as well as the effects of neoliberal growth based capitalism.In spite of this, resistance groups connect with each other using the broken architecture of the old internet.
Seeds from Heaven is a speculative resource hidden within the old internet. This resource shares an archive of historical videos, an immersive soundscape and instructions on how to plant an olive tree in even the most desolate of soils.
Beyond entering a username, user input in the chat is optional. To decrypt the second stage of the work, click on the link sent by deepbluelev at the end of the chat and enter the password.
Upon unlocking the server, please wait while all assets load in. Once loading is complete, a 3D animation of a grey-and-white olive tree flickers across the page, creating a ghost-like visual effect. A soundscape will begin to play through in full and will continue to loop as you navigate this work. At the bottom of the page, click on the left pointing olive branch to view the server archive, or click the right pointing olive branch to preserve your own in this repository.
Enter a name in the chat and click “Join Grove” to begin…
Kashif Sheikh is an artist and musician working from unceded Dharug and Tharawal country. He is a part of Heart Armour, a Sydney trio working at the intersections of ambient music, experimental pop, and r&b. Kashif is interested in speculative fiction as a path to political resistance and nurturing futures.