VRAL is currently showcasing Filip Kostic’s 2019 game video Filip Kostic VS. Filip Kosticin a brand new format. Today we dig deeper into this specific artwork by discussing the longer cut currently hosted on the artist’s website.
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For the record, there exist at the very least three distinct edits of Filip Kostic VS Filip Kostic: the artist’s website features a 22 minute and 10 second version. Additionally, Kostic tailored a unique cut exclusively for VRAL, with a duration of 16 minutes and 28 seconds. Interestingly, an even longer edit can be found on the internet. In this article, we focus on the 22-minute version, which can be watched on this very page.
The most widely debated book of Fall 2023 is, undoubtedly, Naomi Klein’s Doppelgänger, which explores a bizarre case of “identity crisis”. The Canadian author finds herself constantly mistaken for another esteemed public figure who happens to share her first name, Naomi Wolf, and Jewish heritage who gained fame through unexpected and controversial bestsellers, with Klein’s No Logo (1999) and Wolf’s The Beauty Myth (1990), among other things. In her unconventional memoir, Klein methodically elucidates the moments of mistaken identity, specifically in the context of online discourse and social media. Klein explains that this persistent confusion has left a lasting impact on her life and career over the years and led to existential self-questioning. She adds that the mix-ups became more frequent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Wolf’s visibility increased significantly due to her controversial stances on lockdowns and vaccines. Klein kept Wolf at both literal and metaphorical distance. Despite the occasional unplanned overlaps, they never met or engaged in direct interaction.
In contrast, years earlier the Serbian artist Filip Kostic took a radically different approach when confronted with his own doppelgänger, Serbian soccer star Filip Kostic. Rather than avoid his twin, Kostic staged an elaborate performance directly engaging with the notion of identity, celebrity, and performance. In 2019, Kostic was contacted by the athlete’s PR team, wishing to purchase his @filipkostic Instagram handle. For years, Kostic’s account had been incorrectly tagged in posts of the soccer player due to homonimy. Declining a straightforward transaction, Kostic instead suggested a unique proposition: a FIFA Soccer match, streamed live before an audience, where the coveted prize would be ownership of the Instagram account.
As Kostic explains in the VRAL interview, “I was then linked to Filip’s manager via WhatsApp, whom I managed to convince that it is in Filip’s best interest to have a presence on Twitch.” The athlete’s management team warmed to the idea initially, hoping to generate media buzz. But apprehension set in when his soccer club caught wind of the plans. Nonetheless, the absurdist face-off proceeded as Filip Kostic VS Filip Kostic, staged as a flamboyant eSports event…
Matteo Bittanti
Works cited
Filip Kostic
Filip Kostic VS. Filip Kostic, digital video, color, sound, 22’ 10”, Serbia, 2019
Filip Kostic VS. Filip Kostic, digital video, color, sound, 16’ 38”, Serbia, 2023 [2019]
All images and video courtesy of the artist
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