When we talk about the factors which have influenced the history of humankind, one key issue claims more and more of our attention: energy. An invisible power with a wide range of sources and uses, energy is perceived as the driving force behind all life, from individual vitality and artistic creativity at one end of the spectrum to the geopolitical power struggles of the modern age for the last remaining oil reserves at the other.
We have been investigating the concept of energy for several years and one of our main areas of interest has been the history of oil and competing alternatives to it, most notably solar energy. Thus we heralded the era of «Postpetrolism» in the sphere of the arts with a manifesto and a performance in 2006. The following year, our video installation «A Curiosity, a Museum Piece and an Example of a Road Not Taken» recalled Jimmy Carter’s early and ultimately futile efforts to promote alternative forms of energy generation, embodied in the installation of solar collectors on the roof of the White House. On the opening day of our exhibition we received an interview appointment with the former president Jimmy Carter himself.
«A Road Not Taken» is an attempt to tell the story of these solar collectors to a broader audience.