The Feast of Trimalchio by AES+F

2010-07-07T23:16:00.000-07:00

I went recently with a friend (whom I have not seen for at least 2 years) to see The Feast of Trimalchio (Пир Трималхиона) exhibition/installation by AES+F group at Гараж, a centre of modern culture in Moscow. It was one of three or five installations in the centre. The Feast of Trimalchio is a three-part silent movie accompanied by music, an attempt to stage a modern version of Satyricon by Gaius Petronius. All three parts are shown at the same time on the humongous screens that surround you 360 degrees, in a large dark round room. Each part is shown on one third of the screen space. All three parts seem to be independent except the music track uniting them. The above picture is a snapshot from one part, I adopted from afisha.ru. Below are few shots I made with my iPhone. They can be also found in my photo album on Moscow. Each of the three parts of the installation has a catastrophic finale.

We walked into the room some time after the movies began and laid in the centre on the floor. The special effects used in the movies and the photography (yes, it looked as if the movie was made from a superimposition of images), as well as the emotionless faces (without realistic shades) of the characters put me in this mood of feeling something beautiful and, at the same time, something was missing. I have not felt this way for a long time. What was that?

Konstantin (Kosta) Beznosov

The Feast of Trimalchio by AES+F