4:3, 4K, 16mm transfer, colour, 5.1-channel sound, 53′, 2024, edition of 3 (+ 2 artist’s proof)

“End Pull” is a cinematic exploration of temporal distortion, speculative narrative and psychoacoustic sound, spanning 53 minutes. Drawing inspiration from Michael Snow’s “Wavelength” (1967) and shot in the Caucasus Mountains, the film features a continuous zoom through an ancient riverbed, unveiling layers of minerals, fictitious narratives and historical distortions.

It was filmed near Jermuk, an Armenian region scarred by the recent war with Azerbaijan, as well as the development of gold mines run by a Russian-British conglomerate, both of which threaten the fragile local water and ecosystems. Using a variety of lenses, the film manually zooms from a wide, kilometres-long opening shot into the minuscule details of the ancient rock strata of the valley. It is accompanied by a continuous soundtrack which uses psychoacoustic sounds to create a hypnotic and dizzying sonic pressure. “End Pull’ is also syncopated by the voices of two ancient demons—Hārut and Mārut—Zoroastrian deities historically associated with water, renewal and the underworld. Awakened from their slumber by the din of artillery and mining, Hārut’s and Mārut’s solitary existence is marked only by a delirious contemplation of death, magic and the poetics of disappearance.

Blending subterranean mythologies with contemporary political events, the film indulges in cinematic and historical time, and the infinite tension between destruction and renewal.

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Commissioned by the Lyon Biennale, Future Art Generation Prize and Viktor Pinchuk Foundation, with the additional support of Kaunas Biennale, DAAD Berlin and Mondriaan Fonds.

Concept, sound, and writing: Andrius Arutiunian
Concept development and creative producing: Bianca Oana
Director of photography: Louis Braddock Clarke
Colour grading: Julija Steponaitytė
Editing: Andrius Arutiunian, Louis Braddock Clarke, Bianca Oana
Voices: Andrius Arutiunian and Julija Steponaitytė
Reverse transfer to 16mm: Muscle Temple Lab
Sound mastering: Pranas Gudaitis