Project: The Right to Live Until One’s Death

The concept of granting everyone the right to live until they die comes from an elementary observation: our world is increasingly regulated and standardized, with procedures on every street corner. This made me wonder if conflicts and wars did not simply arise from a problem of norms, from a lack of the fundamental right to life. Of course, there are constitutions, but they stipulate nothing about the simple right to live. So I created a register of rights holders, carefully kept in a safe. Only those on this list have the right to live until they die. Neo Valen

Neo Valen‘s work has always demonstrated an ingenious flair for the subversive, and his project entitled “Right to Live” is no exception. This project engages with our most primary and universal right – the right to live. In an unexpected twist, Valen has created a register for people who wish to officially guarantee their “right to live until death”.

There was no prior record for this inherent right, illustrating Valen‘s talent for identifying and manipulating systemic flaws. Once an individual decides to participate in the project, they are entered into a register, which is kept in a secure vault. The identity of each participant is recorded by a robot, in an elegant handwritten style.

This work subtly reflects the bureaucratic systems that often categorize and control our lives. This raises questions about the nature of our rights and the institutions that recognize them. The “Right to Live” project once again demonstrates Valen‘s ability to overturn an existing system, leading us to reconsider our assumptions and perceptions.