The Open Letter

Dear Mr. Looney,

Further to my letter dated 30.11.2020, which provided a detailed analysis of the reasons for proposing the closure of the Company due to its axiological groundlessness, I would like to reiterate my proposal, now supported by an alternative that would replace the activities you and your colleagues believe to be beneficial. Unfortunately, we often fail to entertain the idea that the world could be different – much better. In this search for more harmonious forms, I now offer, in exchange for the liquidation of the Company, its aesthetic analogue – its essential-semantic equivalent that reflects its essence in the critical mirror of artistic-philosophical reflection: the artworks I have created over the past few years while studying the Corporation from the inside. It was my artistic underground, from which I successfully evacuated two years ago via the Expression of Interests program.

Fifteen years in the underground – from head office to offshore – the sacrifices Art required in their creation, in the “here and now,” without embellishment, sustained in strict minimalism and reflecting the verity of the analyzed information. Such works are not created for the art market. They are meant to search for answers to ontologically raised questions, and exchanging them for the closure of the Company – a proposal that may seem somewhat absurd at first glance – would allow for a metaphysical transition of bp to a completely different, axiologically intellectualized form of existence. Better beauty will save the world, rather than political crises, technological challenges, and the business that underpins them all, which will destroy it.

I agree that it sounds utopian. But for all alienation from utopian maxims, I still hope that, despite their nature, they will inspire you and those who make decisions alongside you to reflect: is the world you are creating through your actions truly the beautiful one you declare it to be?

Following the outline of the frankness in this letter, I must share that the only impression I gathered during my years at bp was that, despite your considerable efforts to create a comfortable atmosphere and provide social protection for your employees, I did not meet a single person who was truly happy with what they do within the Company or who derived genuine satisfaction from it. Empires are not the best environments for people to thrive, and the proximity to the infernal substance known as oil only worsens the atmosphere within.

Can we make any effort to make a difference? I believe so. I already did – the effort of one person. The one an artist can make. Can you also make an effort? This is a case with a very difficult dichotomy, where one is a free artist, and the other is the head of a powerful empire, whose decision is a test of readiness to change something in this insanely complex world; and at the very least – an indicator of the attitude towards art, which appeals to making difficult decisions.

Best regards,

Niyaz Mamedov

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