"BAGHDEAD" - part of the WARCHESTRA series

WARCHESTRA is a multimedia art series that aims to transform images of weapon wielding militants from the Arab world into musicians and cultural producers. This project was initiated as a painting series combatting the stereotypical image of Arabs in the Western Media as gun-toting and violent, functioning as a form of censorship and also as an act of resisting stereotypes. The project has evolved into an act of empowerment through culture, highlighting the cultural heritage of the Arab peoples amidst an ongoing backdrop of war and destruction.

Baghdead shows two masked militants on either side of the canvas holding trumpets. Trumpets trump AK-47's while the (non)militants are imposed within a landscape of military occupation, a palm tree oasis and a dilapidated public monument that reads (in Arabic) "With our Soul and our Blood we will defend __________". The monument used to hold the face of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein but graffiti replaces the tiles; the quote refers to the void in a noble cause or warrior, reflecting a decay in Iraqi politics, as well as the propaganda techniques used by Saddam's regime, during which the chant had been "With our Soul and our Blood we will defend Saddam Hussein". A blackhawk helicopter hovers over the scene while a US military hummer surveys the ground.

For the Baghdead sound piece, I collaborated with local Montreal poet and trumpeter Jason "Blackbird" Selman. Bird (his stage name) performs with Montreal Improv collective "Kalmunity", and has a strong foundation in improvisational jamming.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Iraq
• Art
• War
• Painting
• Sound art
• Sundus Abdul Hadi
• Warchestra
• Trumpet

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