Katerina Komianou, Alexandra Koumantaki , Simon Kounovsky, Malvina Panagiotidi , Yannis Voulgaris and sound piece by Georgios Karamanolakis
November, 2020
Imagine living on a planet with six suns that never experiences Darkness. Imagine never having seen the Stars. Then, one by one your suns start to set, gradually leading you into Darkness for the first time ever. Image the terror of such a Nightfall.
Scientists on the planet Kalgash discover that an eclipse – an event that occurs only every 2049 years – is imminent and that a society unfamiliar with Darkness will be plunged into madness and chaos. They realize that their civilization will end, for the people of Lagash have a proven fear of Darkness, but they are unable to predict the insanity and destruction that will accompany the awesome splendor of Nightfall. Inspired by Isaac Asimov’s science fiction novel Nightfall* (1941) the video piece Origins, investigates the hypothesis of eternal sunset to open a dialogue of Cosmogony, concerning the origin of Cosmos and its possible endings. In its post-apocalyptic tone, the work reflects the axis of time to create a moment for the universal experience. Under this prism, the video focuses on the mystery between reality and fiction, offering glances at a different future, even glimpses of events that seem lost to history. Each work in Origins reveals itself startlingly, transmitting an otherworldly essence. After all, it would be as if someone encounters remnants or ephemeral monuments of life and absence while floating in psychedelic dreams between our universal, past, present, and future.
Origins, was shoot during a warm sunset in Schinias Beach, Greece, featuring six autonomous works of regional artists. This off-site installation’s video documentation transforms into artwork with added visual effects and OST, composed especially for the video. The 10 min. video on display is an end result of open research, focusing on capturing a glimpse of a high meditative state.