bRANCHING LIGHT AND THE FLICKERS OF A DAWN
SHORT 3D ANIMATED FILM. 12 MIN. 2025.
Too Close To Remember, GAMU Prague, 2026. Photo by Eliška Klimešová
The work explores the fascinating phenomena of synchronous behaviour of fireflies by linking scientific research with artistic imagination. The 3D animated film works with elements of documentary fiction and ecofiction, reflecting on themes such as mass species extinction, light pollution and the limits of human perception and communication. Inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin’s concept of therolinguistics, the work reflects on the impossibility of translating firefly light communication, a rich and complex channel that is unreadable to human sensory apparatus. Based on the concept of the “Critical Flicker Fusion Threshold”, the work shows how different perceptions of time and light between humans and other organisms underscore hidden secrets to humanity. “Branching Light and the Flickers of a Dawn” represents the final part of a triptych exploring non-human protagonists and offers a poetic reflection on the mysteries of nature. The work raises questions about the consequences of human interference in the environment and invites viewers to reflect on the fragility of life, the diversity of modes of communication and the specific experience of living on planet Earth. Bringing together science, art, fiction and simulation, the project is a profound invitation to rethink our relationship with the non-human world.
CREDITS: soundscape: Andrej Žabkay, video editing: Vladimíra Vrbiňáková, voice: Ema Klubisová, technical support and consultations: András Cséfalvay, Zuzana Panák Husárová
Unconscious Paradises, Luft Festival, GAFU, Ostrava, 2026. Photo by Dominika Goralska
Oskar Čepan Award 2024 exhibition. Pistori Palace, Bratislava. 2025. Photo by Leontína Berková