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NUR is the largest independent international media art festival in Russia, held annually in Kazan. This year, we presented a new installation—Light is Dead—a provocative statement on the race for experiences. The work was exhibited in the arched hall of an underground gallery beneath the city’s main street, a space opened exclusively to visitors during the days of the NUR festival.
Awards
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Light is Dead is a reset and a moment to reflect. Should we keep running in this race for the next big thing, or is it time to protect and grow our own ideas? Installations barely finish their run before they're already seen as outdated—pushed aside by the demand for something new.
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A chaotic cluster of lighting equipment becomes a metaphor: what was once in the spotlight is now forgotten and discarded. The pursuit of novelty erases the past, leaving behind only bare metal. These devices here stand as witnesses to that endless race—they still flicker and pulse, clinging to life, but their time has passed.
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The installation features over 100 pieces of equipment: PAR cans, LED bars, wash and beam lights, strobes, vintage projectors, smoke machines, lasers, and sound gear. At its core are outdated and decommissioned units—the very tools that shaped the industry 15–20 years ago. The festival team in Kazan handled the sourcing and selection of the equipment, while we oversaw the artistic and technical direction.
A hollow structure was assembled from these devices on a truss frame, with functional fixtures mounted to its surface. Hidden inside were smoke machines along with both flood and beam lights, creating an inner glow. We provided a detailed assembly diagram and a basic layout of the components, while preserving the principle of organized chaos. This allowed the artist to begin working on show content immediately on site. Even the road cases and control booth were integrated into the setup—serving both as part of the lighting environment and as essential elements of the concept. The soundscape incorporated fragments from our previous projects—from Swan Lake and Mayakovsky to Arma and IN TO. These sounds echoed from deep within the structure, like distant memories of past shows.
Reviews
project team
Creative Directors Alexander Us, Ekaterina Konovalova Producer Sam Shapiro Executive Producers Alexey Rozov, Alexander Us Setup Designer Ilya Shatin Media Artist Alyona Osipova Graphic Designer Tatyana Zhilyaeva Development Engineer Egor Konovalov Marketing & PR Director Asya Ibragimova PR Manager Nelly Garipova Content Producer & SMM Margo Volovik IT Support Nikolay Chebotarev, Alexander Romashkin, Alexey Kulik, Dmitriy Kraitor, Pavel Svetogorov Music Monoleak Photo Rustam Shagimordanov Video Maxim Gannotsky Special thanks Rashid Osmanov and the NUR team
