Text by Sabine Himmelsbach
Artistic Director of Edith Russ House for Media Art

In his infrared installation Post Global Warming Survival Kit, the Bulgarian artist Petko Dourmana plunges viewers into a post-apocalyptic eschatological scenario of the kind described so compellingly in countless science fiction novels or Hollywood films. Dourmana makes the fear of an invisible menace palpable, something to be physically experienced. On entering the room, viewers at first think there is nothing in it but an old caravan. Only the use of a night vision device enables viewers to experience the landscape surrounding them.

The setting of the action, a typical strip of German North Sea coast, is invisible to the naked eye. The only object in the exhibition room is an old 1930s caravan containing diverse accoutrements necessary for survival, such as durable food, warm blankets, etc., as well as technical equipment so that contact can be made with any other survivors who might be out there somewhere. The interior of the caravan, which is at once a refuge, communications space and reconnaissance headquarters, can also only be reconnoitred with the aid of the night vision device.
The title of the work, Post Global Warming Survival Kit, suggests that what might be at stake is an entirely real threat – the destruction of our planet through climate change induced by man – even though the scenario is a fictitious one. With caustic irony, Dourmana confronts us visually with a ‘nuclear winter’, in which sunlight would be absorbed to such an extent that the sun’s luminance would be extremely reduced – a dystopian view of politics, those responsible for it and our future.
Dourmana enables viewers to physically experience a changed world and the adaptation in our sensory perception that would be necessitated under such circumstances. Visitors to the exhibition, who are also survivors in this apocalyptic landscape at the End of Days, experience and see something others would not be able to experience – like the heroes of science fiction stories and films. Confrontation with the bare necessities for survival provided by Dourmana quickly makes viewers aware that more is needed than mere material goods to ensure emotional survival as well.
In his post-apocalyptic world, Dourmana allows viewers to experience other visual worlds or aspects of our reality that are invisible without the aid of high-tech devices. Without technology, we would be blind in his world.