1 on 1, 2025

Instalation “1 on 1” – a blank canvas with a small projected inscription reading “Efficiency: 0” and, in front of it, a white keyboard with no symbols. Pressing the keys triggers a cascade of emojis on the canvas and begins to count “efficiency.” The action is accompanied by playful sounds reminiscent of a video game – pops and dings. The more you type, the more emojis, sounds, and efficiency points appear. However, emojis only “live” for a few seconds, so once you stop typing, the canvas empties again and the efficiency counter returns to zero.

“1 on 1” – a meta-illusion of efficiency. A side effect that surfaced in a dialogue between (i) and (ai), while circling around the notion of beauty today. How does it work? Who decided it? Why do I urge for it? Is it possible to experience it outside a system that turns everything into content? It speaks of value, consumption, and the desire to create without a filter. The text The Return of The Beautiful documents the process of artistic research: sometimes it feels like therapy, sometimes – a philosophical experiment. Or perhaps it’s an attempt to stay with the questions without reaching for ready-made answers. If beauty does return, it’s not as form – but as a condition, when there’s no need to pretend, only to be. 1 on 1.