Contemporary Iraqi artist Adel Abidin has created something very interesting using unique pieces of music that date back to former Iraqi President Saddam Husein's time.
He named the project Three Love Songs (TLS), which "explores the multiple ways to use and manipulate images to create juxtapositions of meanings from the mundane to the extreme."
To do that, he's chosen Iraqi songs that were commissioned by Saddam, which were used to glorify the regime during his reign, to examine terror, love and how façades are played through song.
"The installation syncs three stylised music videos (lounge, jazz and pop) that each features an archetypal western chanteuse: young, blonde, and seductive," writes Abidin.
Abidin explains that each video’s dramatic ‘look’ creates a different atmosphere.
"It is the songs dedicated to Saddam Hussein that bind them together. The lyrics are sung by the performers in Arabic (Iraqi dialect) and are subtitled in English and Arabic. The singers do not comprehend the content of the songs; instead, they are directed to perform, vocally and by gesture, as though the songs were traditional, passionate love songs. It is this uncomfortable juxtaposition – between the lush visual romanticism and the harsh meaning of the lyrics, between the seduction of the performer and comprehension of the viewer – that forms the main conceptual element of this work," the artist explained.
This work has already been displayed at: MATHAF- Museum, Doha, (2010), ARTER- Space for Art, Istanbul, (2012), Kunsthalle Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland (2012), Hauser & Wirth Gallery, London (2013) and New Museum, New York city, (2014).
To see the entire project, click here.
