Moving images by Aga Ousseinov: “In the Middle of Erewhon II”

 

Aga Ousseinov’s work addresses the failure of utopias of the universalism and

the helplessness of human ideals as they become prominent in the form of

globalisation with its components. These components are now ever more

sharply underlines the ongoing conflict between the East and West and two

different methodologies of mapping. In both cases mapping takes its beginning

from the mechanics, which is seen as an extension of human senses, which are

powerful by their intention, but helpless in their realisation. On the other hand

there is the knowledge of humanities and arts, which could also be understood

as an extension of human ideals. However these ideals are now packaged and

commodified and known to us as the “knowledge industry”, which is built in the

place of failed utopias.

The film on the first screen shows edited footage from the early Soviet film

“Lenin in October”, made by Mikhail Romm in 1937 and later dubbed in

Chinese. In the second screen a film by the artist demonstrates visitors walking

on the Renaissance tombs at the Church of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy,

where Giotto’s fresco depicts the scene of Saint Francis trying to convince the

Sultan to converse into the Christianity. It is juxtaposed with the stereoscopic

images on the third screen, which shows the technological triumph of utopian

ideas, such as the exploration of space. Brought together they are mapping

above mentioned ideas.

Zeigam Azizov

Venice, June, 2011