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The Legend of Oko

The LEGEND of OKO © depicts a beginning of new beginnings. It recounts a story told by the spirit of OKO, echoed through the river, the mountains, the trees, and the people themselves. The story unfolds in a modern urban context and makes visible “the elephant in the room” within our civic sociopolitical life. As legends hold, it portrays OKO some 12,600 years after the last ice age ends in the city, though many ideas remain icy in OKO. In harmony with the spirit of the river, the legend animates visions and thaws frozen categories. It is an ongoing, inconclusive account of change in human societies, showing that change is not only possible but inevitable. It also shows citizens as sovereigns over their sociopolitical life, capable of dialogue, creation, and fostering bonds.

The LEGEND of OKO © is also a pocket guide that seeks to rekindle the flame of creativity and imagination, so citizens may see new horizons in a fresh light. It revivifies a holistic spirit that transcends essentialist binaries. The story comes to life in dialogue with nature, born from the sounds and images of a magical encounter between Wohuma, a citizen of OKO, and a humble yet sublime visitor to the river. In this spirit, the visual and textual components of the story emerge together, without hierarchy, in dialogue and consultation. The legend ends in a no-ending, promising further creation.