THE TABERNACLE
EVGENIA PANINA
A video essay in the machinima genre (2024)
(The game, characters, and text were created by the artist)
''The viewer lives through a looping performance, the drama of the ghost cat Frederick, a hero loyal to his mistress, who died with her. He desires and hovers in the limbic space between the world of the living and the dead. Frederick is looking for a way to regain his body density for a while in order to take revenge on the killers.''

A video essay in the machinima genre develops into a whole unhurried narrative.

The characters here read their roles, and the hidden player controls the movements of the main character.

The process of watching someone else's game, moving a character, and his unhurried dialogues to the sounds
of a piano becomes part of a meditative process, immersing oneself in a world without illusions.

It's as if the audience is in a digital amateur theater, where the roles are played by non-professional actors, and homemade digital decorations are universal for all the troupe's plays.