The Feast of Trimalchio is the best episode in the surviving portions of Satyricon by Roman author Gaius Petronius Arbiter. It recounts the tale of rags-to-riches freedman Trimalchio and his invitation to an inordinately luxurious, overindulgent and ostentatious banquet. In the technically complex video installation The Feast of Trimalchio, the Russian artists' group AES+F transports a contemporary equivalent of the ancient feast to a luxury tourist resort that oscillates between utopia and dystopia. Computeranimated pictures show an island, a hybrid holiday paradise with sandy beaches, ski slopes and conglomerates of 'exotic-classic' architecture. Guests from every age-group arrive on the island on huge cruise ships and appear to represent an international upper class. Their elegant white leisure wear conjures up associations with the clothing worn by colonial rulers or of the collection of a wellknown fashion label. The guests are welcomed and served by a horde of mainly African and Asian servants wearing exotic costumes or service uniforms. [...]

Henri Dietz

Catalogue excerpt
fast forward 2. The Power of Motion
Media Art Sammlung Goetz
Editors: Ingvild Goetz and Stephan Urbaschek
Ostfildern, Hatje Cantz, 2010

AES+F, The Feast of Trimalchio, 2009
3-channel video installation, color, sound  
Edition 2/5 (+ 2 a. p. + 1 museum proof)
69' 20"