Dori (2017)

Performace/Installation

HD Video, Color, Sound

09:09 min, 16:9

Berlin, Germany

In an attempt to explore the ideas of identity and co-existence, of what it means to us, and how much it means, the artist tries to visualize the beauty of this phenomenon using tools of satire and irony by means of video documentation.

In a pre-established social order, in this case, a shed of cows, a single cow is randomly selected and ‘Indianized’ by being decorated her as an Indian ‘holy cow’, and offered prayer. The change in the social environment of the cow shed, as felt and reacted upon by her fellow cows in the farm is observed by the camera. Through this experiment, the artist expands upon the concept of ‘identity disintegration’ is worth in a pre-existing social state amongst the cows in the farm, and how the ‘different’ cow does co-exist amongst her farm-mates, in the process, answering the much asked question ‘How does it feel to be an Indian in Europe’ for his own self.
 

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The first part of the video showcases the ritual of glorifying the ‘selected one’ amongst the farm cows, treating the selected cow as an object, while the second part shifts its narrative to a more real-time observation where the selected one becomes the subject, and how the ‘other’ cows react to this sudden change of appearance in one of their own. The story of Dori also presents itself as a commentary on the relationship between individual identity and modern-day society, as well as the relationship between the individual and the animal, as it transcribes across continents.

Screenshots from video;1-channel, Color, Sound;
Length: 00:09:09 minutes; Format: 16:9

Special thanks to Henriette Theurich, Malak Yacout, Yi Weihua, and Edoardo Tedde for their assistance throughout the process of the project's making.