Laboratory of Inactivity, 2025

Found objects: old walker, old office chair backrest, blown glass blisters, distilled water, metal, old electrical wiring, office blinds, TV.

The Inactivity Laboratory emerged from the artistic research The Fear of Ageing and the Other ‘Self’: Gerontophobia and the Cult of Productivity. Every object, detail, and material holds its own meaning. Hybrid Artifact – an old walker merged with an office chair – creates a symbolic juxtaposition between ageing and productivity. It functions not only as a critique of contemporary norms but also as a speculative reflection on the future: Will we work until death? Will we even be allowed to age — biologically, socially, politically? A continuously looping video piece composed of found stock images depicting office interiors. Liminal, empty spaces transition rhythmically, one after another, reminiscent of a PowerPoint slideshow — static, fragmented, and devoid of life. The video is voiced by the artist’s grandmother, who narrates the daily routine of longevity and anti-ageing ideologist Bryan Johnson — from sleep cycles and diet to bodily procedures and physical activity. This vocal layer creates a tension between the ageing, real body and an ideologically constructed “optimized” model. The work concludes with an epilogue — a sentence formulated by the artist that conceptually crowns the thematic arc of the piece. The Fountain of Youth Infusion System. The liquid pooling in old medical tubes represents the legendary Fountain of Youth — a mythic substance first described by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BCE, now imagined as prepared for consumption. Hand-blown glass bubbles function as part of the drip system. Their fragility and transparency enhance the sense of ephemerality, while their glossy surface evokes the aesthetics of a mythologized elixir. These elements not only diversify the installation’s material language but also sharpen its critical reference to consumerist youth culture and contemporary biohacking practices.