Fake Water

Max DalÍ Kamilla Kulova

Interview by L. Valena
March 25th, 2024

Can you please describe the prompt that you responded to?

It was an image with a faucet and blue lines that reminded me of water, but it also reminded me of the pipes that deliver oil. Immediately the connection between water and oil became clear. I already have a project connected to environmental issues and problems that our modern society is facing. It is all connected to no-limits capitalism that wants to transform everything into earnings without respecting balance, without respecting anything in this world. Not nature, human beings, ethics – nothing at all.

I started from this connection of water and oil. Oil and all of the products that are made from oil, are entering our waters in different ways, as microplastics, as pollution that has created monster islands that are floating in our oceans, in the stomachs of marine organisms. Every time there is an accident, and another petrol tanker sinks, we are destroying kilometers and kilometers of ecosystems. It's a violation. We are being violated by all of these products made of oil, which is made of dead corpses that have stayed underground for millions of years. It's not just the connection between water and oil, the connection is between the oil and the whole ecosystem.

Here, in Brazil, there is a lot of important information that is needed. Barbecue is really famous here, and people do it whenever they can. But most people use a plastic bag or plastic bottle to start the fire and cook the meat. It's totally toxic. Plastic burns and sets free toxins that cause cancer. All of this has penetrated not only the capitalism of the culture, but the habits. The problem is our vision of capitalism. We sell everything in the name of power and money. We sell our lives.

Yes! We sell our time!

Right. And in terms of the environmental impact, we are selling our future for just a little bit of money today. There is no more planning of the future, there is only today. All our values have been put upside down.

How did you make this piece?

It was really difficult for me, because I was waiting for some friends to help me, but no one came. I've been blocked because of some spine problems I'm having these days, so it's been really difficult to get to the beach, and take all of the materials that were in my mind, and find the right place to create the installation. With my difficulties moving, I had to fight with the environment to place everything in the right position. But in the end, I was able to do it, to find the right light and right angle. It's plastic that seems like water coming out of a plastic pipe. It's all plastic.

Everything is plastic.

Everything is fake. Exactly.

How does this piece relate to the rest of your work?

All of my work is related to issues. Environmental issues, human rights, social or health issues. I think that art is made to try to change something, to make this world a little bit better. Everything I create has a message, pointing out something that is wrong that could be made better, or something that is not right. Things that are unforgivable, that negatively influence our story and our society. That's always the intention. To try to convince someone that we can have a better world.

I've been developing a more vast project about environmental issues. Starting from the color of oil, it's black, thick, gooey, and it smells bad. Even in the physical attributes of this stuff, it seems evil. If you see it from the viewpoint of a child, it's so clear. The message is already there. This stuff, that comes from dead organisms, from an ancient cemetery, is evil. It's giving life to evil, and death to us.

Do you have any advice for another artist approaching this for the first time?

Don't think too much about aesthetic issues. Open your soul and mind, take out what is inside yourself to show your true self, and listen to your inner child that is craving attention.

Call Number: V93VA | V95VA.kuFa

Max Dali Kamilla Kulova: Italian, non binary, neurodivergent, chronic ill, award winner, multidisciplinary artist part of Techspressionism International Art Movement, their artworks have been exhibited in Fortaleza, London, Budapest, Athens and in several venues on the metaverse. Survival of an abusive familiar and social situation they transformed these ignominious harassment into an impulsive force that catapulted them on the stages as actor, performer and drag queen and on the streets, public squares and media as an activist for LGBTQIA+ Rights, general Human Rights, Animal Rights, Environmental Issues and everywhere they saw an injustice. https://sandwiche.me/maxdali_kamillakulova / https://www.instagram.com/ / maxdali_kamillakulova/ https://x.com/KulovaMax