REVOLUTION
Liberty, Social Equity, Unity
“Every revolution comes with a bag of unfulfilled promises”
In 1952, a group of military officers came to power in Egypt with a coup
d’etat. They came with a bouquet of promises: independence from
the British empire, modernization of a country worn out by centuries of
occupation, social equity and proper distribution of wealth to reduce
the gap between the rich and the poor, unity of all factions, minorities
and ideologies in one big modern democratic society.
The bright slogans of this coup d’etat / revolution influenced the
lay people in numerous states in the Arab world, all occupied by previous
colonial powers, stimulating feelings of separatism and independence,
exporting revolutionary ideas (and sometimes technical support) to other
states in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Slightly over half a century later and despite the sometimes blind faith
and total belief of the mass public, all promises remain unfulfilled,
people are still trying to get liberated from the total economic dependence
on multinational-transcontinental corporations, a gap between the rich
and the poor is massive, the national identity is contaminated by neo-pan-Islamism,
and many states who got inspired by this revolution and who thrived on
the unity promise are threatened by civil war.
Revolution Project
Three-channel video.
One screen 400 X 225 cm.
The screen is divided in three parts; each part shows the protagonist/freedom
fighter.
Screen one, Social Equity:
Represents the military belief, with the left wing promises of social
equity and secular pride. The gun in the hands of the protagonist and
his obsessive action with it declares true intentions of military politics
and promises.
Screen two, Liberty:
Represents free market belief, the multinational corporations promises
of profit, prosperity and economic freedom. The hammer in the hand of
the protagonist and his rhythmic action of hitting nails represents the
true nature of the promise: rules of neo-slavery in costumes of middle
managers and executive outfits
Screen three, Unity:
Represents rising fundamentalism and global right wing penetration. The
Satour (egyptian blade for cutting chunks of raw meet) in the hands of
the Islamist, his outfit and his decapitation of the blond dolls represent
the clash of civilizations and culture of intolerance. The moves and looks
of the protagonist, touching the legs and breasts of the dolls prior to
decapitation declare the sexist nature of right wing beliefs.
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