This is the third episode in the series 'Sound as a by-product' started during the artist-in-residence period in Q-O2 (Brussels).  It studies parts of our life where sound has a quality of a by-product - an incidental or secondary outcome of the main activity. Think of cooking, eating, home appliances, sex toys, masturbation sounds, as well as voice interaction with animals or electronic devices.  The first episode called 'Eat me (like a chef)' and the second episode 'Joystick Whispers' were presented as a part of audiovisual P U L S E program in 2020-2021 through the artist-founded platform C O M (E) P U L S I V E. 

'Silence as a by-product' was written and recorded within 3 weeks since the beginning of the war instigated by Russia against Ukraine in February 2022. It is a reflection of the downward spiral of silence that has been seizing Russia. Exploring dystopian motives, and the relation between anger and fear, it also talks about Putin and the Internet, the Superstate, and its Unknown Soldier Hero. Unlike the previous two episodes, this one utilizes the video capacity of its presentation and has inserts of the documentary short 'Double F for Final Fantasy', 8 mm footage from family archive, abstracts from Russian TV programs, as well as the English subtitles to the novel 'We' by Evgeniy Zamyatin, quoted in the Russian language.

The first version of this audio work was presented & tested during the new edition of Spring P U L S E 2022 by C O M (E) P U L S I V E - an artist-founded platform for sound art. An artist talk with Alina Ozerova about this piece and its biographical context was captured in the framework of artist-2-artist talks organized by C O M (E) P U L S I V E.