Qualis artifex pereo ? translated What an artist the world loses in me, was the dying words of the infamous Roman emperor Nero. The phrase here marks what Bo I Cavefors and Martin Bladh through their performance-series The Theatre of the Decadence of Cruelty for several years have manifested: the close proximity between staged debauchery and oppressive violence transformed through artistic self-exploration; how humiliation can be handled when converted into enjoyment, sexual absolutism and a strict acceptation of its most profound consequences: sperm, blood and the crack of the whip; and in the end, the question: what is sensation in itself? One answer that is presented in this work is that sensation is a violent physical overload, an attack on the nervous system best handled completely naked, when one is bleeding and disappearing into sexual ecstasy. STYX förlag presents QUALIS ARTIFEX PEREO - a book and a DVD. The book includes: ? a manifesto ? essays by the artists ? in-depth interviews: Cavefors on Cavefors by Johannes Flink Bladh on Bladh by Peter Sotos discussing the nature of their art and their drives ? 9 color collages by M.Bladh ? a poem by M.Bladh intersected by a text amalgam based on works of Georges Bataille ? original action scores for the performance pieces ? the work INJURY The DVD includes two performance pieces: QUALIS ARTIFEX PEREO (40 min) performed and filmed in Malmö, 8th of June 2008. Actors: Bo I. Cavefors, Martin Bladh, Erica Li Lundqvist, Johanna Rosenqvist. Film: Aryan Kaganof. African Noise Foundation in association with Grymhetens Teater Dekadens Music: Martin Bladh Sound engineer: Mikael Oretoft QUALIS ARTIFEX PEREO ? FINIS (27 min) performed and filmed in Norrköping, 12th of June 2009. Actors: Bo I. Cavefors, Martin Bladh, Johan Adolphi, Mikael Oretoft. Film: Peter Andersson, Lars Bosma Music: Martin Bladh plus the extra feature INSULT - a video work by Martin Bladh (15 min)
