default

Eurasia (Questions on Happiness) takes us to one of the historical boundaries between Europe and Asia, located near Ekaterinburg in the Eastern Urals. Shot in Russia and North Macedonia, the film assembles cinematic scenes, documentary analysis, animation, found footage and poetry by Marina Tsvetaeva and Alexander Vvedensky. In the speculative narrative that underpins the film, the new continent of Eurasia has assumed the name “DVD Zone 5” following the collapse of the European Union. Floating between utopia and dystopia its narrative towards the end dissolves into monumental steppe landscapes and flashing birch trees amidst a manic road trip. Eurasia unfolds along the New Silk Road amid digital imaginaries crossing Europe, Russia and China, from the Ural steppes to cargo trains running from Greek ports. As the separation between Europe and Asia is a historical and cultural construct rather than a physical barrier, the work proposes a new way of narrating partition, and territorial fictions. The film’s presentation at M HKA incorporates a new iteration from its original spatial installation, with tree branches and a woven textile triptych as backdrop.