Architecture of Silence: Why It Is Futile to Search for Us

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«True power never knocks on closed doors. It simply changes the locks throughout the entire building while the inhabitants argue over the price of shares».

I know the expression on your face as you read these lines right now.

In your office on Place Vendôme, in Zurich or on Sand Hill Road, there is surely a faint scent of cold espresso right now. Your trusted analysts, legal departments and private agencies, for indecent fees, have already spent a sleepless night trying to reduce the name Olha Lysenkova (Dronova) to the usual formulas: Whose trust is this? Which fund stands behind the scenes? Who is this mysterious Dronov, and in which offshore havens should one look for traces of the syndicate?

Put down the phone, gentlemen. Drink some water. You will find nothing.

Searching for a woman with a double surname through the closed databases of the old world is an entertaining pursuit, but an extremely ruinous one for your budget. You will find hundreds of women who calmly make jam in the suburbs, take their children to school or give themselves an impeccable manicure. But the one who overturned your chessboard, you will not find on any Forbes list. Because lists of wealthy people are a vanity fair for those who need to prove their worth to other people's banks.

A Lesson for Old Conglomerates and «Generous Investors»

For too long you have lived in the illusion that the world belongs to those with more floors of glass, longer compliance chains and louder marketing departments. You have herded people into your digital reservations, where between a condolence photograph and a painting from the Louvre up pops a discount on synthetic socks, and you have called this «progress» in all seriousness.

You have forgotten how to distinguish scale from fuss.

Once, a wealthy man with a patronizing smile asked me what gift I would like to receive. Men of your circle usually expect predictable feminine whims: another handbag, a piece of jewellery or a new phone to replace a broken one.
I looked at him and calmly replied: «I want to found my own company».

He smirked condescendingly: «Write a business plan, and I will consider the investment».
I wrote it for two weeks. At night, without any help, after exhausting days of work. I placed before him a tome of 68 pages — with a full structure, calculations and formulas.

Etsɔa eƒe axa ɣeyiɣi didi, kpɔ eƒe nukpɔkpɔ dzodzro eye wòte ŋu kpɔ eƒe akɔntabubuwo ŋu:
— «Nukatae wozãa mɔfiame siawo tɔgbe?»
— «Wozãa wo elabena wokpɔa wo le nusɔsrɔ̃ gbalẽwo me. Ke dzidzɔkpɔkpɔ ƒe mɔfiame veviwo le nye ta me, eye nyemadi be maɖe wo ɖa hafi woado adzɔnu la te.»

Eye ekema nunɔla sia wɔ nu si miawo, aƒetɔwo, dzidzɔkpɔkpɔ ƒe nunɔlawo, wɔa ɣesiaɣi ne mieke ɖe gãnyenye aɖe ŋu si miete ŋu dzikpɔ o. Eƒo nu. Etrɔ eƒe ŋkuwo le ɖiɖi me eye wògblɔ:
— «Mesusu be yele fefem... Nya be, mègbɔ dzidzɔkpɔkpɔ gã la ŋu haɖe o. Yi wɔ dɔ le nye xɔlɔ̃ gbɔ, srɔ̃ agbe, eye emegbe, ɖewohĩ, míaɖo nu tso eŋu ake.»

Mekla agbalẽ la eye megblɔ nɛ nu si melɔ̃ ɖo ƒe agbe katã:
«Nyemadi be matsɔ nye agbe awɔ dɔ na ame bubuwo ƒe xɔlɔ̃wo o. Ke ɖo ŋku ŋkeke sia dzi: ègbe dzidzɔkpɔkpɔ nam, eyata matsɔ nye dɔwɔƒe la anyi nye ŋutɔ — nyemaxɔ ga ɖeka kura le ame aɖe si o.».

Ƒe geɖe va yi.

AƒE LA ƑE MANIFESTO

«Wogblɔ “ao” nam. Metsɔ fiaɖuƒe anyi.
Enye ko elabena mate ŋu.»

Dzidzɔkpɔkpɔ ɖeka kura o. Gaƒoƒo ƒe gaɖoɖo ɖeka kura o. Nublanuitɔ ɖeka kura o.

Nuxlɔ̃ame bɔbɔe

VIA AD ME menye dɔwɔƒe yeye o. Míelea fefe le miaƒe dzidzɔkpɔkpɔ ƒe ɣeyiɣiwo me o, míexɔa miaƒe gaɖoɖowo o eye miaƒe aɖaŋuɖoƒe ƒe aɖaŋuwo melɔ̃a mí o.

✦  Afi sia mele mɔfiame siwo xea amegbetɔ ƒe susu ɖa o.

✦  Afi sia mele ɖeɖefia, nusɔsrɔ̃ ƒe dɔwɔƒe kple asiɖeɖe le ame gbogbo me o.

✦  Eye nu vevitɔ: afi sia mewɔa ɖeɖe le ga me o.

I know that the first reaction of old capital is always the desire either to buy or to break what does not fit into its coordinate system.

I will spare you this fatal mistake: do not even try.

To go against a system built on hard-won personal strength, impeccable mathematics and absolute knowledge of human nature is an enterprise with a guaranteed negative balance. You will spend your millions on lawyers, on audits, on attempts at pressure, and in the end you will remain standing at closed gates with a folder of useless reports. Just as that investor remained sitting with his indecisive money.

I am not a predator. Predators fuss and bare their teeth because they fear remaining hungry. I look upon your noise with the light, condescending smile of a hostess who has simply put her own house in perfect order.

If your brand, your manufactory or your family office one day tires of drowning in the global digital dump — you know where the button for requesting accreditation is. We will politely consider your request. Perhaps we will even reply.

And for now — spare the nerves of your analysts. We have taken care of them and translated this manifesto into 180 languages, so that each of you may read this smile in your native tongue.

With unchanging respect for your wasted time,

Olha Lysenkova (Dronova)

Founder & Creative Director of VIA AD ME