Developed during Diego Agullo’s and Dmitry Paranyushkin’s residency at PACT Zollverein coalmines in 2011, The Humping Pact is a tribute to dysfunctional spaces that still emanate creative potential. Our polysingular coming together is an attempt to build an intimate and personal relationship with space, being loyal to its demands and dedicated within our efforts. Presented as a multi-screen video installation.

“Residence is, immunologically speaking, a defensive measure designed to demarcate a sphere of well-being from invaders and other agents of unwellness’ [...] Constructing a residence is, in other words, a ‘preventive measure’ that establishes a physical border between the protected interior and the potentially dangerous exterior.”

“There is the translation of an existing space into an operative space defined less by a configuration of positions than by qualities of potential movement. By that we mean that it is defined by ability to irrupt unexpectedly, to break out of or to break into the existing spatial grid, anywhere, at any moment. This irruptive potential enables a completely new and different pattern of movement that is not on the grid, but flows through it following different principles of circulation, and implying a different repertory of tactics.”

The Humping Pact intends to cover every place that emanates unrealized creative potential around the world. Starting at Zollverein coalmines in Essen, Germany, we travel the world to find more landscapes. The project is entirely supported by the network of contributors.

www.humpingpact.com

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Support Us!

Your contribution will help us continue the project. You will get access to restricted material, a mention in our Hall of Fame and in the short film credits, as well as the free DVD (out in February 2012).

“Zollverein Coal Mine in Ruhr region of Germany, where the first videos of The Humping Pact were filmed, has a very interesting history. After the second World War it was the largest industrial center of that kind in Europe, but in 1986 it was closed and declared a memorial. In 2001 the whole former mine was declared to be UNESCO World Heritage Sight.
Since the closure of the mines there have been numerous debates on the local and national level about the future of the region. How to bring in the new potential, resuscitate the area around, and make it more attractive for the cultural and business activities.

In this regard, Paragullo’s act of humping and loving the space is a direct response to this discourse. They believe that the environment can be saved and revitalized through building a very personal and intimate relation to it. By harnessing the immense sexual energy inherent in every human being and channeling its creative potential into the strong and beautiful man-made geometrical structures, they offer their tribute to history, to architecture, to technology, to art, to science, and to the region and its people.

This collective action of humping transcends the intended use of the space, fertilizing it with dedication and belief – the universal currency of transformation and change.”
– Dimitriego Paragullo