The Open Letter

Dear Mr. Looney,

In addition to my letter dated November 30, 2020, in which I presented a detailed analysis of the reasons necessitating the liquidation of the Company based on its axiological insolvency, I would like to reiterate my proposal – this time supported by an alternative intended to replace the activity that you and your colleagues consider valuable.

Far too often, we fail to imagine that the world could be different – much better. In pursuit of more harmonious forms of existence, I propose, in exchange for the liquidation of the Company, its aesthetic analogue: an essential-semantic equivalent reflecting its nature in the critical mirror of artistic-philosophical reflection – namely, works of art I have created over the past several years while studying the Corporation from within. This was my creative underground, which I successfully left two years ago as part of the “Expression of Interests” program.

Fifteen years of underground creativity – from the headquarters to offshore – accompanied by the sacrifices demanded by art in the “here and now” mode, to create works devoid of any embellishment, based on strict minimalism and reflecting the information I have meticulously researched, analyzed, and studied all these years. These works are not intended for the art market. They serve to seek answers to ontologically posed questions about the environment you have managed to construct. Their exchange for the cessation of the Company’s activities would enable a metaphysical transition of bp into a radically different, axiologically meaningful form of new existence in a completely reborn incarnation. An exchange more than equivalent.

The world will not be saved by political crises, technological challenges, or the business that fuels them, but by beauty.

Yes, this may sound utopian. And yet, despite the fact that I myself am far from utopian extremes, I hope these works will inspire you and those behind you to reflect: is the world you are shaping through your decisions truly as beautiful as you claim it to be? To be as candid as possible, I must note that the one indelible impression from all my years working at bp is that, despite all your efforts to create a comfortable environment and social security for the employees of this vast empire, I have not met a single person who was genuinely happy in their work for it or derived true pleasure from this activity. Perhaps, then, it was not created to bring joy to people? Empires in general, and yours in particular, are not the best environments for human habitation, and proximity to the hellish substance known as oil only intensifies this failure of happiness.

Can we change something? I believe so. I have already made an effort – an individual one that only an artist can make. Will you be able to make one as well?

This is a case of a complex dichotomy: on one side, the Free Artist; on the other, the head of a powerful empire. Your decision would serve as a test of your willingness to change something in this incredibly insane world and, at the very least, as a measure of your attitude toward art, which sometimes demands equally difficult decisions.

Best regards,

Niyaz Mamedov

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