Dawn of a day too dark to call tomorrow

Akil Ahamat
Dawn of a day too dark to call tomorrow
QSXGA+ video with Stereo Sound

Dawn of a day too dark to call tomorrow (2021) is an imploration for the importance of affect and emotional immediacy in the wake of the collapse of the information age. Taking the essay form that frames this series of commissions as its starting point, the work contends with the futility of extended argument in the face of misinformation and shortening attention spans. 

This video is part of an ongoing series centered on a relationship between Akil and a snail. The work in this series has previously taken a variety of forms (including low relief sculpture, online game and large scale audio installation) but has until now been defined by longing, and one or the other’s absence. In this iteration, we find Akil and the snail in a moment of rare physical proximity but at the precipice of a conflict. As they perform and reperform a shifting script, the vignette becomes a meta-exposition on the purpose and effects of storytelling. Using intimate ASMR sound design and intricately detailed cinematography that lies on the borders of visibility, the work sensorially reproduces the main question posed in the script; what do we do when we can’t trust what we see?