"The Game of Futures II", marble and plastic, 2019

A sculptural materialization of the game of power developed by Avenir Institute in St Petersburg:

“The project departs from the critical theory and the theory of futures, embedded in gamification mechanisms from popular board games, played by the people of all generations. The board game consist of a board in the shape of the map of Russia, the game pieces representing the various centres of possible futures (medicine, communication technology, energy, etc.), the score coins that are distributed by chance, and political leader figures, whose function in the game is to close the towers of possible futures into one fixed ‘the future’ - a gesture that allows to claim the scores for players. Each player places pieces on the map, which is carefully balanced on an elevated stand. The higher the tower and the further from the centre of the map it is built, the more points the player claims at the point of topping the tower with a political leader. The players can build on each other’s towers, but the one who started the tower and the one who closed it with the political leader gets the most points. The players cannot put coins on the map arbitrarily and move their tokens as in Draughts (or Checkers). The players, while building towers, have to mind the balance of the platform: in case towers are not built carefully, the platform can incline and collapse “the game of futures” for everyone. The winner of ‘The Game of Futures II’ defines the core of the desirable future scenario: based on the type of events (avenirs) their tokens represent.

None of the scenarios of futures is right or wrong: the competitive character and the critical nature of the game are reflected in the relativity of the gameplay and the role of luck along with strategic considerations - crucial for the resilience and balance of the platform.”