Open

Lion & Unicorn is a young multidisciplinary collective consisting of Pekka Airaxin, Liza Dorrer, Karina Golubenko, Mariia Kachalova, Anton Kalgaev, Maria Kosareva and Ivan Kuryachiy. In collaboration with game designers Daria Nasonova and Dmitry Vesnin, they are developing a digital platform to investigate the public meaning of institutions. The application, which in its interface resembles Telegram, will function as a chatbot, and allow users to take on the roles of different actors surrounding the Biennale – an artist/architects invited to “represent” a country in a national Pavilion; a Pavilion’s commissioner; a seasonal intern taking care of the daily functioning of a Pavilion.

Reflecting on how the current pandemic has affected every aspect of our reality – including the functioning of the Biennale – the communication between the player and the chatbot will be interrupted at random by an interfering agent in the guise of a bug. The application will provide powerful insights into the mechanisms and relationships between countries, curators, institutions and the public, and will be released online through a Let’s Play event on pavilionrus.com at the end of May.