The grains of time

In the state of the ongoing present, «self-reproducing» and «leading to no future» (B. Groys), the continuity of everyday cycles is especially noticeable. We perform habitual actions every day and get a visible result from them, but the very next day everything returns to its original state. This loop creates the feeling of a frozen present, where any achievement is immediately reset. Such a strange form of time: time is private, everyday, personal, repetitive, useless. It is filled with anxiety, attention to everyday details, small tasks that require concentration on oneself, and leaves no room for big plans. The big time — historical, political — has lost its rhythm and has ceased to be predictable. But the small time, the time of our body and our kitchen, continues to tick with frightening precision.

For the project, I’m using the form of a video esser, in  which connects the personal experience of the time-dependency with  the general state of history and  the social hub. The starting point is my own fatigue from  the cycle of everyday processes — those small actions that need to be repeated again and  again to preserve the appearance of order and  stability. But  that feeling is beyond the limits of personal experience. On  the level of the video is built as a rotation of the household routines of — makeup, brushing of teeth, watering of the plant — and  more metaphorical scenes: the stopped stream of stream, frozen television news. Installations — deceleration, fixation, stoppage, — emphasize lockdown and  coherence of the present.

The video is accompanied by the text of the essay — personal reflection on  timing, repetition and  inability to move forward.