Andrej Beštak & Anja Leko (HR)
It was nice to pretend we know it all, 2023
We couldn't believe our eyes. Through its sanctuary, all the way to the bare altar of emanating light, the owl, that hybrid being of all accumulated religions and mythologies, calls us. It used to announce death to us, proclaimed the transition to states for which we were not always ready. Now, mesmerized by the luminous darkness of the owl sanctuary, we are invited to linger.
We created her as a digital goddess, an enlightened being who cleanses us from technological nuisances – data mining, digital surveillance, Would you be interested in building your Mobile app? Try the upgraded business travel tool! It’s your high school friend’s birthday today. Death Calculator ☠️ When Will I Die? It leads us towards meditative relaxation, multiplies us and then dissolves the boundaries of our bodies and introduces us to a state of spiritual materialism. It achieves what we have not been able to do so far – instant but absolute oblivion. It releases all those precious neurotransmitters, clothes our body in the boundlessness of emptiness, but without those annoying hyperthermia or trismus. Sometimes, when the euphoria of oblivion leaves us, strange monks fill the sanctuary in their hypnotizing motions.
Sound: Yulia Vasileva & Ronja Jòhannsdottir
The work was created with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, and the City of Zagreb.