An expanded video essay on a semi-existent anonymous community called The Anxious Hour. Mediums of folk culture: noise music and amateur singing – collide in certain ways forming a narrative; second formal device is switching between darkness and light by controlling the light’s intensity. Formally, we are working with the legacy of Chris Marker.

In terms of meaning, the work is built on the contradictions arising within spontaneous street gatherings. This work tries to open up social and philosophical problematics associated with such forms of human organization as microsocieties and microcultures. As of now, neither in the contemporary theory, not in the Roland Barth’s classic “How to live together,” we do not find all the answers and do not fully understand how to actually live together.

In creation of this work we actively work with the residents of Kuzminki (Moscow‘s district) and of adjacent areas; these contacts can introduce some adjustments into our performance at different stages.

First mentions of the “Anxious Hour” community are dated back to 2017. The precise goals and objectives of the participants are still unclear. We had a thought that our questions could be answered by some artistic forms, trying to clarify the situation to some extent. On the other hand, maybe it is more interesting for us to stay in the dark, away from the economy of light.

The participants of “The Anxious Hour” (be reminded that the community did not name itself, it is just a journalistic name) themselves believe that one simply needs to be together while the sun sets over the horizon.
Representatives of friendly microcommunities, their friends and relatives will take part in the performance.

The team

Kristina Markova

Graduate of the Faculty of Media Communications of the Higher School of Economics, Institute of Contemporary Art BAZA, Visual Culture MA student at the Higher School of Economics. Works with the fiction and documentary films, animation.

Katerina Beloglazova

Film critic, curator of film programs, founder and curator of the Cinema Club at Moscow School of New Cinema, member of the music collectives Cultural Patriarchy and Vizbor Girls – comprized of three performers: Faith, Hope and Love Vizbors: girls, hi!

Sasha Minchenko

Artist, musician, active collaborator of the G5-54 community and editor of the video streaming channel DeriveTV.

Eat Rust

Hungarian ukulele composer, for a while he lived in a cardboard house on Vorobyovy Gory. Main activities: dark amateur music, freak folk, cultures of Ancient Asia Minor.

Alek Petuk

Artist, musician, USTU graduate. Founder of the festival of independent situations Kuzlesfest and of the Fence exhibition site that functions within the space of sleep (the cognitive sonoriate community), member of the Coinsidental International.

Jan Kalnberzin

Media artist, active underground actor of 2000s, founder of TouchFest. Currently actively engaged in creating video for plastic performances and interactive multimedia installations.

Lena Klab

Person of melted identity, punk improviser, theory lover, practice lover.