VENERA-13

 

video 10'05''(2019 – present)​

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Outer space has always been a screen for humanity's political ideals, often reflected in science fiction. Venera-13 presents an alternative perspective on space exploration, shifting away from traditional narratives of human dominance. Set against the backdrop of the Soviet mission to Venus in 1982, the film explores the unconscious motivations behind space technology, giving voice and agency to the machinery involved. At the heart of the story is the lander Venera-13, a spacecraft descending onto Venus's surface, equipped with a pioneering pre-digital camera invented by the artist's grandmother, scientist Margarita Naraeva. This camera, known as "telephotometer”, worked for two hours and managed to capture the first colourful images of the planet before dying due to harsh climate conditions. Through a dramatic dialogue co-written with the artist's grandmother, the film unfolds the tragic tale of this non-human protagonist. This Farockian “suicide camera”, personified as a rebellious machine, undergoes various stages of self-cognition and realisation of its role in the Cold War-era space race. As the conversation progresses, the camera confronts its purpose and the exploitation it facilitated, shedding light on the broader themes of visual colonialism and militarism embedded in technology of industrialised vision.
 

artistic director: Aleksei Orlov
3D generalist: Alexander Pannier
music: Anastasia Tolchneva (aka Lovozero)
sound design: Yulia Glukhova 
voice: Alla Chovzhik, Daria Zateeva
scientific advisor: Pavel Shubin, Margarita Naraeva
 

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