LOVE, WAR, HAPPY END

2024

Happy End Hotel, Munich

From a 25-meter anamorphic hallway to a deep dive into algorithmic absurdity. The hotel as a canvas for synthetic reality: a three-story descent from the familiar into the surreal.

THE INTERVENTION

Created for the interim use of the Happy End Hotel in December 2024 (organized by broke.today), we developed a site-specific video installation spanning three floors. The hallways were thematically divided into Love, War, and Happy End. Utilizing a 25-meter projection into the depth of the hotel corridors, we worked with targeted anamorphosis: upon entering the floor, the image initially appeared completely flat and static—a visual barrier that only dissolved into its perspectival distortion as the viewer physically moved into the space.

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THE METHOD

The visual layer was developed using early generative AI models (Runway), while Dan Corches created a corresponding auditory layer. The dramaturgy of the AI content followed a dual logic of escalation: within each one-minute loop, the imagery drifted from hyper-realistic shots into technological absurdity. Simultaneously, this degree of abstraction increased from floor to floor. While the LOVE floor started with predominantly tangible, "real" imagery, WAR already displayed a more fragile aesthetic. The final floor, HAPPY END, ultimately broke entirely with any reference to the physical world, presenting a purely surreal, algorithmic vision. This was mirrored by Dan Corches’ musical loops, which shared identical melodies but utilized different AI-generated samples on each floor.

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THE OBSERVATION

The installation functioned as a dual experiment on the perception of truth. While the spatial anamorphosis questioned the physical position of the viewer, the AI content addressed the fading credibility of digital images. The musical constant—identical harmonies with varying textures—reinforced a sense of déjà-vu and disorientation. Through the progression of surrealism across the three levels, visitors witnessed a gradual dissolution of reality. The transition from perfect illusion to technological absurdity deliberately deconstructed the trust in our senses and the permanence of digital artifacts.

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