The theme of intimacy through memory (cultural, biological, individual or in group) is one of the most versatile artistic themes of all time. All the more so as in present times social rhythms are intensified, time and space contract, global social events precipitate, memory of intimacy functions as a zone of balance, a litmus test of civilization through which humanity can evaluate its present and project its future.
„Youth everlasting and life without end” has a media concept that revolves around the idea of the passage of time that erodes and destroys, but does not break the continuity. The hopes, aspirations, destinies of some people are practically transmitted from generation to generation, even if changed in context. It transmits not only DNA information, but also a type of mental imprint that nullifies individuality, life becoming a conglomeration of lives along the same lines, more than personalized existence.
„Youth everlasting and life without end” is an immersive experience that explores the idea of passing, transformation, evolution and decadence, tradition and its erasure, memory and oblivion through the poetic history of a family.
Revolt, helplessness and evolution, only to perpetuate something that goes beyond any biological or cultural framework: the human capacity to dream and project possible futures.
Concept, text & voice: Cosmin Perța
Video editing: Veronica Ștefăneț and Artur Cojocaru
Photos: Perța family archive
Translation: Andrew Davidson-Novosivschei
Curator: Ana Negoiță
The project is part of the subtheme The Poetics of Care – Intimacy, Tenderness, Repair.
Author
Cosmin Perța
Cosmin Perța was born in Maramures, Romania, in 1982. He is a poet, novelist, playwright, and essayist. He graduated from the Faculty of Literature at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj. Perța went on to earn an MA in Contemporary Literature at Bucharest University, followed by a PhD with a thesis about fantastic literature. His works have been translated into eighteen languages, and in 2012, he was selected as the Best Young Romanian Prose Writer. In the Romanian and foreign press, there are more than five hundred reviews and references to Perța’s work. In the last ten years, he has been awarded some of the most prestigious Romanian literary prizes. His novels have been translated into Serbian, Croatian and Arabic and he has poetry anthologies translated to French and Spanish. Perța is currently working as a freelance editor and professor of comparative literature at Hyperion University in Bucharest.
