Nullsummenspiel

With my readymade "Zero-Sum Game," I utilize a classic abacus to visualize the rigid logic of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Traditionally, a calculating frame serves the purpose of rational weighing and balancing. Here, however, it becomes a symbol of a geopolitical tragedy in which territories and human fates are reduced to mere mathematical variables.

Visually, the work is divided into two blocks, each bearing the national colors of the parties to the conflict. On the upper five rods, white and red beads align in the colors of the Russian flag. The blue is missing; it is located directly beneath. The lower five rods display the Ukrainian colors: blue and yellow. Yet, the very mechanics of the abacus render any transfer impossible. What is needed lies tangibly close, yet remains forever out of reach.

The title alludes to the game-theoretical premise that one party's gain is necessarily the other's loss. While every movement of the beads may shift the front lines, the total sum within the system remains immutable. The abacus calculates relentlessly. At the end of this cold geometry of war, the result for both sides is zero.