A private artistic project by Russian artist Oleg Paschenko. Very strange, creepy, interesting, and years ago, it was interactive (flash). Now it's just a walkthrough video that doesn't provide the same mystique. And it seems some of the creepier skeletal sections aren't shown. I think it might be a different version from the original.
Back when I first stumbled upon the site (90s), it was like a curiosity amplification engine for my young mind. What is it? Why would someone spend time on something like this? And why wouldn't they provide information about what it is or who they are? Am I using it right? Are there easter eggs I'm missing out on?
It was depressing, creepy, and intriguing. I wasn't able to find any writeup on it when I first found it (pre-google) and I was just so drawn in. I'd click in one place, and something weird would show up on the screen, then I'd click again and nothing would happen. I'd see random flashes of skeletal structures or a small child that appeared to be crying. And the sounds were just as disturbing as the visuals. I never forgot it.
Paschenko is a pretty curious guy. IIRC he makes both digital art and physical works, and—again IIRC—they tend to be atmospheric like this site, if perhaps a bit less cryptic. He's big time into Orthodox Christianity—supposedly the dominant religion in the country, but most ‘believers’ here just have this checkbox in the back of their minds that they're Orthodox, and that's it.
He was employed since '99 by Art. Lebedev Studio, one of the first web design companies here, known also for the Optimus keyboard. And he wrote some time later that it took him a while to realize that Lebedev, the company's owner, was just giving him money to let him continue making his art.
A private artistic project by Russian artist Oleg Paschenko. Very strange, creepy, interesting, and years ago, it was interactive (flash). Now it's just a walkthrough video that doesn't provide the same mystique. And it seems some of the creepier skeletal sections aren't shown. I think it might be a different version from the original.
Back when I first stumbled upon the site (90s), it was like a curiosity amplification engine for my young mind. What is it? Why would someone spend time on something like this? And why wouldn't they provide information about what it is or who they are? Am I using it right? Are there easter eggs I'm missing out on?
It was depressing, creepy, and intriguing. I wasn't able to find any writeup on it when I first found it (pre-google) and I was just so drawn in. I'd click in one place, and something weird would show up on the screen, then I'd click again and nothing would happen. I'd see random flashes of skeletal structures or a small child that appeared to be crying. And the sounds were just as disturbing as the visuals. I never forgot it.
Here's a writeup in eyemagazine https://eyemagazine.com/feature/article/conclave-obscurum
Here it is in the Web Design Museum https://www.webdesignmuseum.org/flash-websites/conclave-obsc...