Iraq is the Winner

The video work Iraq is the Winner is presented in a small dark room - the shaky, colourful projection is filling one entire wall and there's the noisy sound of explosions and people screaming coming from the speakers opposite the image. We live in times of permanent news coverage on terrorism and a society getting more and more afraid by this influence, especially relating to Islamic culture. Reading the title of the work Iraq is the Winner, viewing the explosions in the projection and being overwhelmed by the noise, we might immediately think of suicide bombers, war scenes or airplane crashes. But the shaky video is just showing the celebrations after Iraq's surprising 2007 victory of the Asian Soccer Cup, filmed by a spectator with his mobile camera. Something positive and joyful is turned into something oppressive and threatening by our perception of it.

Exhibited at Sihlhallenstrasse Neunzehn, Zürich, 2010 and EXPLUM, Puerto Lumbreras, Spain, 2011