WOMEN IN IRAN
In the context of the concert with the Iranian composers and LE DONNE IDEALI AND GUEST
WHAT DO DOMINANCE, MANIPULATION, OPPRESSION, VIOLENCE AFFECT?
Curator ZAHIRA MOZAFARI focuses on the work of the two young women SARA SASANI and ZOHRE SOLATI who live in Tehran IRAN, where they exhibit in galleries and at international film festivals, but have never been shown in the cities on the banks of the Rhine. What is special is that the two artists live in Tehran and critically reflect on global issues such as environmental pollution and the status of women in their short videos.
In European media news programmes, we are currently hearing a lot about the obligation to wear headscarves and the blatant oppression of women by the mullah regime. We are therefore all the more pleased that there are such self-confident women artists in Tehran who are pursuing their very own artistic style.
Duration of the compiler: ca. 30 min
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EYE-VIEW UTOPIA UKRAINE
After the start of the war in UKRAINE in spring 2022, the Videocity team was corresponding with Ukrainian artists. From our exchange, we learned that we can help by giving their works a presence in the art world. So, we showed Ukrainian video art in Basel and Bern, followed by exhibitions in other towns. As the war continues, we believe it is important to show Ukrainian artists‘ videos as often as possible in order to share their perspectives and to stand by their side. Curators: POLINA CHIZHOVA, ANDREA DOMESLE, JAMES STEPHEN WRIGHT from VIDEOCITY
Duration of the compiler: 35:08 min
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MAKSYM KHODAK
Flags of Propaganda, 2018 Videocity edition 1 channel, looped, 3:00 min
Battleship Potemkin is one of the most famous films in history. At its core, however, it was Bolshevik propaganda. Goebbels remarked: “[This is] a wonderful film that has no equal in the cinema. “Anyone who does not have strong political convictions could become a Bolshevik after seeing the film.”
The climax of the film, which confirms the previous thesis, is the raising of a red flag over the deck of the battleship. In “Flags of Propaganda” I also color the flags, with the only difference that instead of the color of the Bolshevik flag I use the colors of the most influential ideologies fought over in modern Ukrainian society.
Maksym Khodak https://www.maksymkhodak.com
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OLIA FEDOROVA
The Catch, 2017–18 , ohne Ton, 16:9, schwarz & weiss, 10:40 min
«...He saw on the shore two boats left by fishermen who were washing their nets. As he got into one of the boats, he said to Simon: “Go out into the deep water and let down the nets to catch.” Simon replied: «Master, we worked all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will cast the net." So they did, and they caught so many fish that their nets threatened to break. So they filled both boats to the brim so that they almost sank. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' feet and said, "Lord, get away from me; I am a sinner" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had caught. Then Jesus said to Simon: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch people.” So they drew their boats to the shore, left everything behind, and followed him" (Luke 5:1-11)
But who ever said what happens to fish after fishing?
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YANA BACHYNSKA
Deconstruction of the Ancestor, 2016, no sound, 4:48 min
I'm trying to reach my roots to understand myself better, but what I face is the darkness of tradition and cruelty of past centuries. So I decided to invent an ancestor on my own. And I'll put him on like people put on their national costumes. It will be the best expression of my identity. https://secondaryarchive.org/artists/yan-bachynskyi
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MARINA DYKUKHA
Big bro is fucked up watching you, 2014, mit Ton, 0:16 min
“Big bro is fucked up watching you” is a metaphor for the influence of big data and algorithms and the way they control people's behavior or the course of events, and how this can be reversed if people do that Define the system in which you want to live together. We can see the unhealthy system being hacked by people coming together to protest and say “no” to those who decide to take power away from the system. The project works with the idea of renewal and paradigm shift between art and politics, an individual and the system. It pushes the former to take direct action and rethinks the field of mutual influence. The concept uses the method of interaction, in which the disruption becomes not an ordinary error, but a significant victory over the system as a whole. The project emerged after the Euromaidan events in 2014 in Kiev, Ukraine. Marina Dykukha https://marinadykukha.com
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DIANA DERII
Vision of Life, 2022, Ton von Maks Yos, 7:44 min
“Vision of Life” is a video artwork filmed on the streets of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine in May 2022. The city in western Ukraine is a conditionally safe place in the country at war. The video was shot during an air alert and after the curfew using thermal imaging, effectively changing the visual perspective. This shift in optics draws our attention to the mundane aspects of daily life in this newfound reality, where what was once considered the norm now becomes a utopia. All lighting on the streets will be turned off after 11 p.m. and citizens will be asked to adhere to the light masking rule. It turns out that the streets are plunged into complete darkness and we can only observe what is happening on the city streets with special equipment. When a rocket flies, an application will be triggered notifying you of an air alert. In the crowd, you can often hear alternating signals going off on the phones of passers-by, and in about a minute the city's emergency alert system is activated. Diana Derii
SERGEY BRATKOV
Endless war, 2007, no sound, 2:28 min
With this film I want to remind the audience that every minute somewhere far from home there is war, death and people dying. Very often there are stories about objects that are captured by an atmospheric vortex in one part of the world and sent to another part of the world. Fallen helmets become such letters, memories of the war that came to us by chance, those who did not encounter it directly. Sergey Bratkov
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COPA & SORDES
www.chernobyl-rose-hedge.net, seit 2017
The artist duo Copa & Sordes launched the “Chernobyl Rose Hedge” project in 2017. Her metaphorical idea: “A virtual network of roses will cover the destroyed Chernobyl power plant. By dropping roses on the surface of the power plant - symbolic of all current and future victims - their stems will intertwine into a strong braided shield of wishes and hope for a peaceful future." After the outbreak of war, they designed a special edition - everyone who buys this edition contributes a metaphorical building block to the online peace memorial and at the same time supports Ukrainian artists and cultural workers. Andrea Domesle
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