The Fossil Fuel Myth / 2020–2024 years

“A post-apocalyptic entity composed of organic corpses flattened, piled up and liquidated in sedimentary basins (mega-graveyards). Oil as the post-mortem production of organisms is bound to death. Since its ethos — both origin and end — is purely teleological, whatever it inspires is founded on death and the logic of death and eventual conclu­sion”

“God can only appear (reveal itself) when all possibilities of the Earth are depleted. The Myth of Fossil Fuels is connected to the institutionaliza­ tion of religious expectation and anticipation through the oil industry: with every thing we produce with oil, we get a little closer to God.”

Reza Negarestani “Cyclonopedia”

The oil sector is the main driver of the economy in Tatarstan, where I was born. As a result, I’ve always associated the word “oil” with positive things. To make a nice living, my friends and I desired to work in this field. But very few people fell into this elite petrochemical cult, while others simply served him.

Oil is an ancient thing. It is older than humans and machines. It is older than Tatarstan, which stands upon its deposits. The ancestors of the modern Tatars believed in the existence of the winged serpent Zilant, who protected Kazan. Zilant was the antagonist of all enemies of the Kazan Khanate and could take the form of a ruler. Tatarstan has a new deity, the oil Ouroboros, who gives birth and eats himself. One day, the serpent will overcome his own greed, flooding the earth with endless black abundance, so that even the skulls will smell of gasoline. In this dark flow of his blood  everything that existed will gradually fade away.

Oil has evolved into a sentient entity that embodies the republic’s natural, economic, and cultural narratives. According to Hobbert’s theory, sooner or later oil reserves will run out, reaching a peak. The servants of this cult, blinded by greed, have forgotten that the Apocalypse is at the end of the pipeline. After all, no darkness exists in the world that is not mirrored in oil.

Description

Project consist of

• digital photos
  
• Sculptures
• audio-installation
  

Exhibitions

• Personal exhibition in “Nepokorennye” gallery, Saint-Petersburg, 2022
  
• CCA “Smena” “It seems there will be an exhibition in Kazan”, Kazan, 2022