SIRIUS

Anton Vidokle and the Institute of the Cosmos
Public Programme

The exhibition Anton Vidokle and the Institute of the Cosmos features four films by Anton
Vidokle and a reading room informed by themes of Cosmism. To accompany this exhibition,
SIRIUS presents a series of events that engage with Vidokle’s practice and Cosmist ideas,
including screenings, performances, and panel discussions. All events are free and do not
require advance booking.

Irish premiere of Anton Vidokle’s film Citizens of the Cosmos, with a discussion led by
Maximilian Le Cain
Saturday, 23 September; 8-10pm

Anton Vidokle’s film Citizens of the Cosmos (2019) narrates the text of the manifesto of
Biocosmism, presenting an imagined community voicing the historical desires of Cosmism –
immortality, resurrection of the dead and interplanetarism. This screening is followed by a
discussion led by filmmaker Maximilian Le Cain exploring the work’s key topics and
aesthetics.

Conversation between scholars Jenny Butler and Rossana Henriques in response to
Anton Vidokle’s film Autotrofia
Saturday, 30 September, 3–5pm

Anton Vidokle’s film Autotrofia (2020) considers the reconfiguration of digestion and
nourishment as they are replaced with vegetal mechanisms. The film also documents an
Italian festival where two trees symbolizing summer and winter are conjoined to produce one
tall, allegedly supernatural tree. Rossana Henriques discusses future alternative food sources,
with particular attention to the role of agricultural developments in creating a sustainable
future. Jenny Butler discusses paganist ideas of social organisation, as manifest in practices
such as planting and harvesting.

Irish premiere of Anton Vidokle’s film Gilgamesh: She Who Saw the Deep (co-directed
with Pelin Tan), with a discussion led by Pádraig Trehy
Friday, 6 October, 8–10pm

Anton Vidokle and Pelin Tan’s film Gilgamesh: She Who Saw the Deep (2022) reflects on the
perennial pursuit of immortality. This screening is followed by a discussion led by filmmaker
Pádraig Trehy exploring the work’s key topics and aesthetics.

Speculative analysis of the Timeline of Cosmism, led by Miguel Amado and Sarah Long
October 14, 2023, 3–5pm

The Timeline of Cosmism is a chronological mapping of critical developments in art,
literature, science, politics, technology, and philosophy pertaining to Cosmism. SIRIUS
members of staff Miguel Amado and Sarah Long examine the impact of Cosmist-related
incidents and imagines future events on this trajectory.

“The Waters of Silence,” a performance by The Quiet Club
October 20, 2023, 8–10pm

The Quiet Club is a collaboration between artists Danny McCarthy and Mick O’Shea. They
employ various sound-making devices, from homemade instruments to field recordings. They
perform a probing, improvised sound piece inspired by Cosmist ideas
and the role sound plays in Anton Vidokle’s films.

Animated reading of Alexander Bogdanov’s novel Red Star, led by Miguel Amado
Saturday, 28 October, 3–5pm

SIRIUS Director Miguel Amado leads a reading and discussion of Alexander Bogdanov’s
early science fiction text Red Star 1908), which imagines a socialist society on Mars. The
session meditates on the contemporary relevance of the book’s plot and expands into an
examination of utopias, dystopias, political enterprise and the role of fiction in collective
visions of the future.

“Institute of the Microcosm: Death and Dreams,” a performance by Sarah Long
October 28, 2023, 7–8pm

The artist and writer Sarah Long considers Cosmist ideas through the lens of the Irish cultural
context. This lecture-performance includes readings from Long’s autofiction pamphlet Death
and Dreams, and reflects on narratives that continue to haunt and shape the Irish psyche,
including the Famine, colonization, the relationship between religion and mythology, and the
personification and politicization of the land.

Anton Vidokle’s Onward to the Stars!, a play performed by Eibhlís Beirne
October 2028, 2023, 8–9pm

Onward to the Stars! is a play by Anton Vidokle based on excerpts from Nikolai
Zabolotsky’s poem “Mad Wolf” (1931) and passages from Svetlana Fedorova’s doctoral
dissertation on Cosmist ideas. The play, presented for the first time in Ireland, is performed
by the County Kerry–based artist Eibhlís Beirne. Beirne draws from extensive research on
Cosmism-related aesthetics to embody the various characters, including a wolf and a bear,
through voice and movement.