Cold Interrogation
One channel video installation
“Since I left my home country Iraq in 2000, I am dealing daily with different questions about my identity”. This interactive installation deals with the questions and questioning of identity of an Arab, Muslim, and Iraqi individual living in western society.
An appliance we walk up to everyday, to search for nourishment or to combat boredom, is transformed into an interrogator. A video projected inside the empty box continuously questions the role of the Arab-Muslim identity in a post 9/11 world. After hearing loud audio seeping from the refrigerator, the viewer physically engages the piece by placing his eye to the security peephole in order to watch the video of a man asking rapid-fire questions like, “How did you end up in Finland? How is the situation in Iraq right now? What do you think of Osama bin Ladin? How does it feel to ride a camel? Are you with the war, do you support it?” When these harsh questions are aimed at the viewer, the witness becomes the interrogated, trapped in a box without the right answers.
Details:
Country of production: Finland
Duration: 00’01’00 min. (Loop)
Aspect ratio: 4:3
Sound: Stereo
Original Format: Mini DV
Screening format: DVD - all / PAL
