The Open Letter

Dear Mr. Looney,

Further to my letter dated 30.11.2020, in which I presented a detailed analysis of the reasons for proposing the dissolution of the Company on the grounds of its axiological void, I would like to reiterate that proposal – now supported by an alternative intended to replace the activities you and your colleagues consider beneficial.

All too often, we fail to imagine that the world could be different – much better. In the search for more harmonious forms, I now offer, in exchange for the liquidation of the Company, its aesthetic analogue: an essential-semantic equivalent that reflects its nature in the critical mirror of artistic-philosophical reflection – namely, the artworks I created over the past few years while studying the Corporation from within. This was my artistic underground, from which I successfully emerged two years ago through the Expression of Interests programme.

Fifteen years in the underground – from head office to offshore – marked by the sacrifices that Art demanded in the “here and now,” stripped of embellishment, grounded in strict minimalism, and reflecting the truth of the information I examined. These works are not intended for the art market. They are meant to search for answers to ontologically posed questions. Exchanging them for the closure of the Company – an idea that may seem absurd at first glance – would enable a metaphysical transition of bp to a radically different, axiologically intellectualized form of existence.

It is not political crises, technological challenges, or the businesses that drive them that will save the world – but rather, better beauty.

Yes, it may sound utopian. And yet, despite my own distance from utopian maxims, I still hope that they might inspire you, and those who make decisions alongside you, to reflect: is the world you are shaping through your actions truly the beautiful one you claim it to be?

In the spirit of frankness that defines this letter, I must share that my only lasting impression from my years at bp was this: despite your significant efforts to create a comfortable environment and offer social protection for your employees, I did not encounter a single person who was genuinely happy in their work within the Company or who drew true fulfillment from it. Empires are not the best environments for human flourishing – and proximity to the infernal substance known as oil only intensifies the malaise within.

Can we make an effort to change this? I believe so. I already have – an individual effort, the kind an artist can make.

Can you make an effort too? This is a case of a difficult dichotomy: on one side, a free artist; on the other, the head of a powerful empire. Your decision will serve as a test of your willingness to change something in this insanely complex world – and, at the very least, as an indicator of your attitude toward art, which calls for difficult decisions.

Best regards,

Niyaz Mamedov

25 October, 2022
1.05 a.m. UTC+3