In an alternative techno-dystopian present, magical realists of the Yuzhinsky Circle – an underground movement born in Moscow in the 1960s that linked esoteric beliefs with Russian Traditionalism in the service of a nationalist imperative – continue their activities through Auropa, an occult commercial collective.
Auropa runs a business of reality augmentation, with the intention of giving every living person the possibility to experience, through eyewear technology, somebody else’s death. This communal witnessing of the transition to ‘the other side’ is devised to produce a solidarity so emphatic that it bridges Europe and Asia, fulfilling the theorist Aleksandr Dugin’s agenda of a Eurasian empire.
We are describe these themes and theories as ‘grey areas’ of contemporary thought: considered with suspicion by the majority, ignored by scientists, then left in the hands of commentators and politicians who exploit them to populist ends. The grey areas, for all their factual inaccuracy, have the potential to be a uniting force, and are thereby latent tools for generating power. The House of Dugin is both a criticism of these political machinations, and an attempt to reappropriate the philosophical territory of magical realism.
The film is complemented by ASMR Maggot Triggers, a smartphone app of a manipulable larvae sound/landscape, and Auropa`s Graverunner/Infinite Graveyard, a game set in an endless cemetery. The video is also made available through a delivery company called Auropa, a performative act that directly mimics food courier services like Uber Eats.
Pop-up book
a model cinema through which the film can be watched on smartphone using a one-time code
Liquid Landscape
substance that transforms an enclosed or indoor space into a horizon
Dead Vision
Smartphone app combined with pop-up book provides the best viewing experience
