Thumb war
Can you describe your work in a nutshell?
The work is a three-channel film installation that is projected onto a 3 faced triangular wall structure, with each channel being a different perspective from the action of the film. The film is a re-enactment of a found photograph that takes place within an alternate reality. This original image, which is both a snapshot and a propaganda image, was found on a military flickr page and depicts a soldier, from an army I won’t specify engaging in a thumb war game with a young local boy.
In the film the two characters meet and engage in a thumb war with each other, whilst a time-lapse of the day takes place in the background. This absurd action makes reference to the so-called war on terror and it’s futility of it.
The work was shot in a green screen studio with the characters and action as live action, the background is a digital artificial creation. The work attempts to blend truth and fiction and reality and simulation to the point where this difference is difficult to distinguish.
Who are the artists that inspired your work?
The work is inspired by Omar fast, Harun Forocki, and Andrei Tarkovsky.
why did you feel it was necessary to make this work?
I am interested in making work that explores universal power structures and investigating the links between shared memories and historical narratives.
As a UK artist do you think this relates directly to the British involvement in Iraq?
Yes. I think that Iraq and Afghanistan are events that often blend together in the public consciousness, especially as that period was referred to as the war on terror. Despite the war on terror being declared as over by obama, It actually continues as a kind of infinite war without any fixed legality or borders, fought as proxy conflicts between world powers. However, It is mostly away from the public conscious now.
Ultimately the work is about neo colonialism, with the archetypal soldier battling both literally, and for the consciousness of the population, both of which are essential in order to maintain subjugation.
For me the image of the thumb war image I found embodies the unequal exchange in power, the game nature of war and the absurdity of this conflict. I feel the image exists on these multiple levels, and that’s why I wanted to recreate It, to interrogate it and elevate it’s importance.
Also, the work is distinctly cinematic, and this is a reference to cinemas influence on conflict, and the seductive and aesthetic nature of violence, which is often a reason people choose to join the army.
they’re pretty big topics what do you think the audience here will take away from them, do you think you’ll understand these political topics?
I tried to make my work exist on multiple layers, and the first layer is the visual, and I think with this work it is very accessible. On this initial visual layer, the content of the film, the two characters battling each other, thumb wars it is actually fairly simplistic, and the other aspects don’t need to be fully understood to be appreciated.
Do you think you are challenging the political beliefs of your audience? is there any kind of transformative experience to be had?
I would like the audience to consider where they exist on the map of these universal power structures that are being questioned and investigated.
I want the audience to consider how they participate in these power structures, or perhaps how each person is affected by the power structures being investigated. and his politics that you are addressing. Everyone is affected by these events depending on various privileges and oppressions.
I think it’s important to that the artist plays a role in society, as a citizen, and makes work that questions or reflects thee actions taken by and within the state, such as this which was supposedly to benefit us and done in our name.
Where do you think the work will go from here?
This scene is a fragment from a larger film script and I hope to one day make a feature film out of it. But for now, I'm going to continue making installation videos that investigate the intersection between what I perceive as universal power structures.
Will you be present at the opening to speak to us normal people?
I will be at the opening, and I will be high on cocaine that has been ethically sourced wearing a very nice tailored suit, bought from Oxfam and I will be willing to answer questions from you ‘normal people’ provided your hands have been sanitized before you touch mine.