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Project by: Enemies in
Collaboration (A Collaborative thinking process by Lia Lapithi Shukuroglou
and Isin Onol)
"The
Grass is Greener on the Other Side", Multi
channel video installation.
This
project is a work in progress, emerged from our correspondences of last
two years and is mainly concerned about the issues around democracy,
division, polarization, paranoia, and as an invisible layer, Cyprus and
Turkey. It is an invisible layer, because it concentrate on everywhere
else but these two countries. This is because, we argue that Cyprus is
not the “problem” itself, as it is often stated, but rather a symptom of
a larger sickness of the globe...
Human
race produces cities, countries, with concrete constructions, which led
the new generations tend to forget the fact that indeed globe is on
move, in its own time, as a natural organism, underneath the
constructions that perfectly cover the very surface of it. Through
education, generations are also introduced to the borders of the present
settings of the countries. As a paradoxical term “border” simply implies
to its own uncertainty, temporality and its desperate, or even pathetic
attempt for its existence. As oppose to this notion, every generation
encounters at least few changes on these border settings among nations.
These border changes may not affect many people’s lives if the situation
far away, and can be ignored tranquilly, or accepted with no trouble,
however, within the interconnected areas, the change does not occur very
smoothly, just like a modern couple who divorces very friendly, sharing
the possessed goods, and decides to stay as friend after their
separation. The divisions of countries are rather bloody, scary,
creating all sort of traumas and fears within the society, damaging the
life in every accept, sadly, dramatically, frighteningly. More than the
border changes themselves, the very fear of this possible experience
support a lot the power struggles of the notions.
There
are many, if not all, societies on the earth are currently facing this
fear of division simultaneously having paranoia of possible games around
their country. Renouncing the reliability of the politics, and their
communication tools, following to each given information, their
controversies, conspiracy theories, contradictory oppositions are as
well spread rapidly. Every information is suspected for its possibility
to be spread around for the sake of these games...
What happens to the nations when their fear eventually become true. When
they experience all these traumas, violence, death, the split in their
families as a consequence of new borders, etc. Does the fear finally
end? Or does the paranoia even gets bigger? There, to protect, at least,
the newly shaped borders, a further, and even bigger, a desperate
attempt starts up. This nation gets engaged with stronger means of
defence, arming. The society gets more nationalist,
chauvinist, and more hateful, more fearful
against “the other”. Then the history gets
shaped, on each side differently. Subjective stories get transmitted
between the generations. How long does it take to recover, forget and
forgive? Is it ever possible? How
does it become possible to interact between individuals, while their
countries are “enemies” at the governmental level?
The
Grass is Greener on the Other Side, finds its metaphor, “the cow”, to
indicate the absurdity of the desperate attempt of separating nations,
within these separated areas establishing and deconstructing
“democracies”. The cows have been filmed at geographies that are
struggling with the traumatic traces or the devastating paranoia of
division or of lack of a properly functioning democracy. Being one of
the most innocent animals, hardly harmful, only beneficial to human
kind, cows, unluckily represent stupidity, clumsiness, roughness, and
ludicrousness to human as they live on their own pace in peace and
tranquillity. Very much intriguing as an image; and visible due to their
sizes; easily reachable for their omnipresence, they can be a symbol of
every single social establishment. Fair enough, they are the symbol of
Switzerland, the centre of “democracy”.
In the
multi channel video installation we see cows from varying geographies.
Each of them gives an idea on the socio-economical conditions of the
country that stuck over those geographies. For each cow, its “country of
origin” is subtly determined either by background sound or by a
characteristic landscape. Among them, we see a mature Swiss lawyer,
giving an historical account about “the Jura problem”, (another
“problem” area, although not as internationally notorious as Cyprus),
making the definition of the Swiss democracy. We hardly hear him among
the cacophony created by the cow videos. The Swiss father is put in
position to teach the careless cows some democracy lesson but they do
not listen to him as they are concerned about a more major issue, the
food. The cows have been filmed, in Cyprus, Israel, Croatia,
Switzerland, Germany, Oman and Qatar and they continue being filmed in
other locations... |
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"Arabia-Middle East"
(two screen installation) 2011, 10 minutes.
For Centuries Arabia has
excited the interest and inspired the imagination of Western countries.
Use the word Arabia and a set of images is instantly conjured; Queen of
Sheba, camel caravans of frankincense, dhows laden with pearls, ruins of
empires, 1001 nights, even desert falconry… and then there is how
today’s media stereotypes the Middle East.
Visually and aesthetically
these two screens are not compatible and each viewed by turning one’s
back to the other (2-chanel screen installation on two separate video
projections on opposite walls of exhibition space).
Screen 1: How to fix a broken Falcon wing: You will need Isofluarin
inhale-anesthetic, a kebab stick, 5 minute epoxy hard glue, masking
tape, paper.
Cut off broken feather.
Replace with another falcons feather (as prosthetic). Use masking tape
to hold apart the rest of the feathers on wing.
Use kebab stick to make a
connecting bridge between the new the old feather. Cover with glue and
reset. Steam-iron the fixed wing.
Screen 2: My name is Khan,
I am a Muslim, I am not a terrorist. Panoramic view of Muscat, off a
highway. Khan drives back singing “It’s my life” and other old pop
western hits. |
