Ksti Hu
Ksti Hu

OUT OF MUD

2020, Video, 2:19min

OUT THE MUD is a short video. It depicts an animated quest of a creature which explores the existence with an immense level of social expectations. The title refers to the phrase commonly used to describe rising from difficult or humble beginnings to achieving success. Thus, the protagonist has to overcome visible and ephemeral obstacles with great determination to deserve some form of reward.

Coming as close to a critique of capitalism and the idea of the American Dream as possible, the creature and its aesthetics have their roots in the mid-90s to early 2000s Russia. The young, non-Soviet generation experienced a unique blend of influences, ranging from the success-driven Disney world to the Soviet melancholic cartoon ‘Cheburashka’. As a result, an entire generation got stuck between the dream of rising ‘from nothing to the top’ and the harsh dystopian reality marked by the absence of a future.

The viewers may feel sympathetic to the cute creature and in this way be involved in the capitalist system of consumption of the lives wasted in attempts to achieve the heights.

Exhibited:
2022 Public screen, curated by Unicorn DAO, NEO Shibuya TV, Tokyo, JP
Unicorn Dao Showcase, Superchief Gallery NFT, NY, US
Unicorn Dao X Art Week Charleston, Beeple Studios Charleston, South Carolina, US
2020 From Today’s Perspective, museum angewandte kunst, Frankfurt, GER

Art direction & concept: Ksti Hu
3D sculpting and animation: Ksti Hu & Cudha
Sound: IXXF

OUT OF MUD

2020, Video, 2:19min

OUT THE MUD is a short video. It depicts an animated quest of a creature which explores the existence with an immense level of social expectations. The title refers to the phrase commonly used to describe rising from difficult or humble beginnings to achieving success. Thus, the protagonist has to overcome visible and ephemeral obstacles with great determination to deserve some form of reward.

Coming as close to a critique of capitalism and the idea of the American Dream as possible, the creature and its aesthetics have their roots in the mid-90s to early 2000s Russia. The young, non-Soviet generation experienced a unique blend of influences, ranging from the success-driven Disney world to the Soviet melancholic cartoon ‘Cheburashka’. As a result, an entire generation got stuck between the dream of rising ‘from nothing to the top’ and the harsh dystopian reality marked by the absence of a future.

The viewers may feel sympathetic to the cute creature and in this way be involved in the capitalist system of consumption of the lives wasted in attempts to achieve the heights.

Exhibited:
2022 Public screen, curated by Unicorn DAO, NEO Shibuya TV, Tokyo, JP
Unicorn Dao Showcase, Superchief Gallery NFT, NY, US
Unicorn Dao X Art Week Charleston, Beeple Studios Charleston, South Carolina, US
2020 From Today’s Perspective, museum angewandte kunst, Frankfurt, GER

Art direction & concept: Ksti Hu
3D sculpting and animation: Ksti Hu & Cudha
Sound: IXXF