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Animals Have No Fate

Animals Have No Fate
/8
    • у животных нет судьбы
    • Animals Have No Fate
  • 2021
  • video, color, sound
  • 15min, 47sec
Dana Kavelina’s film “Animals Have No Fate” was made in collaboration with Olha Marusyn and exists in two versions, each from the perspective of one of the two artists. This work is based on the eponymous thesis advanced by Zhenya Belorusets. Kavelina’s version can be regarded as the main one and is five minutes longer. While her version is divided into 14 consecutive chapters, Marusyn starts with number 15 and then uses random numbers such as 3 or 128. She chooses sequences that are also part of Kavelina’s version. These sequences portray feral as well as domesticized conditions at the threshold between animal and human, hinting at a post-human future. Alongside shots showing animals in pastures, the human performers are shown interacting with all kinds of props and prostheses in a natural setting. Whether dressed or naked, the male and female performers use these items for animalistic actions that all exhibit some kind of cruelty. In one scene, Kavelina performs jumping jacks with a cigarette in her mouth and knives that are attached to her face but then fall to the ground. Overall, the film questions an era characterized by environmental emergencies, biopolitics, and accelerating technological progress. W.S.