Title: Signs of Times
Performance
@ Self Organized Street Perfomance in Copenhagen with friend and photographer, Maher Khatib.
Duration: 1 day
Year: 2012
This performance took place in several locations in Copenhagen. I involved the public by asking them what popped into their minds when I mentioned the word 'No.'
My performance suggests how power can be imposed, used or abused. The performance involved public participation where I played a character in a white costume walking with different signs in the streets. I stopped and asked people about what first came to their mind when I said the word No. I then walked in the streets with that word on the sign until I met another person that would come up with a new word.
No connection, no credit, no worry, no crap, no hypocrisy, no fear, no brownies, no satisfaction, no junk food, no shopping, no hope, no shitty drugs, no prejudice and no foreigners were among the words created by the public during this performance. Among the people that participated were students, a waitress, prostitutes, musicians, pensioner, a sales man, barbers, shoppers, dancers and artists.
I had paid a tailor to make me the white tuxedo when I was on a trip to Malaysia (my birth place) in 2011. In this project the white color symbolizes purity, peace and hope, but on another note the white tuxedo reminds me of the British officers who wore white uniforms when Malaysia was occupied for 200 years by Britain. The white uniform they were wearing gave this sense of absurdity towards the local environment and it was also like a symbol of a white imperial supremacy from the West taking over the East. This white uniform was also worn by the Malay elitists during the British occupation time. After Malaysia got its independence in 1957, it adapted the British system in many aspects of life including political, judicial and education. The same political party has been ruling the country ever since and draconian British laws were inherited.
@ Self Organized Street Perfomance in Copenhagen with friend and photographer, Maher Khatib.
Duration: 1 day
Year: 2012
This performance took place in several locations in Copenhagen. I involved the public by asking them what popped into their minds when I mentioned the word 'No.'
My performance suggests how power can be imposed, used or abused. The performance involved public participation where I played a character in a white costume walking with different signs in the streets. I stopped and asked people about what first came to their mind when I said the word No. I then walked in the streets with that word on the sign until I met another person that would come up with a new word.
No connection, no credit, no worry, no crap, no hypocrisy, no fear, no brownies, no satisfaction, no junk food, no shopping, no hope, no shitty drugs, no prejudice and no foreigners were among the words created by the public during this performance. Among the people that participated were students, a waitress, prostitutes, musicians, pensioner, a sales man, barbers, shoppers, dancers and artists.
I had paid a tailor to make me the white tuxedo when I was on a trip to Malaysia (my birth place) in 2011. In this project the white color symbolizes purity, peace and hope, but on another note the white tuxedo reminds me of the British officers who wore white uniforms when Malaysia was occupied for 200 years by Britain. The white uniform they were wearing gave this sense of absurdity towards the local environment and it was also like a symbol of a white imperial supremacy from the West taking over the East. This white uniform was also worn by the Malay elitists during the British occupation time. After Malaysia got its independence in 1957, it adapted the British system in many aspects of life including political, judicial and education. The same political party has been ruling the country ever since and draconian British laws were inherited.
Title: D-art for Global Village
Performance art @ Brøndby Bibliotek
Year: 2014
I made this art event where I invited the audience for a dart competition. I commissioned a company in China who are specialized in making copies of works by famous artists so instead of having a normal dart board, I replaced it with a portrait of myself.
I wanted to make a social gathering where the public are involved in ‘ making’ the artwork or participating in a performance and hereby make awarenes on arts and copy rights.
Year: 2014
I made this art event where I invited the audience for a dart competition. I commissioned a company in China who are specialized in making copies of works by famous artists so instead of having a normal dart board, I replaced it with a portrait of myself.
I wanted to make a social gathering where the public are involved in ‘ making’ the artwork or participating in a performance and hereby make awarenes on arts and copy rights.
Title: Scripted Reality/Stop the War
Installation and Performance @ Museum of Contemporary Art Roskilde Denmark
Materials: Spices, sand, salt, paper, ink, newspaper, bullet caps, shisha, toy gun, photograph and guitar
Size: variables
Year: 2016
In this work, I collaborated with Feras, a Syrian refugee living in Denmark. It shows among others a road map, which Feras took to come to Denmark from Syria. I also worked with a Syrian who lives in Homs who contributed his photographs showing how the city looks like during the present time.
The installation also includes the top 10 arm manufacturers companies in the world which profited from selling arm weapons and they includes companies such as Rolls Royce and Boeing.
Spices were used to make part of the artwork which is taken from historical perspective and I took The Age of Discovery as the starting point for this work where the West started their voyages to the East in search of resources (spices) which end up with hundreds of years of colonization and the newspaper were an exploration in our relationship with the mass media.
Materials: Spices, sand, salt, paper, ink, newspaper, bullet caps, shisha, toy gun, photograph and guitar
Size: variables
Year: 2016
In this work, I collaborated with Feras, a Syrian refugee living in Denmark. It shows among others a road map, which Feras took to come to Denmark from Syria. I also worked with a Syrian who lives in Homs who contributed his photographs showing how the city looks like during the present time.
The installation also includes the top 10 arm manufacturers companies in the world which profited from selling arm weapons and they includes companies such as Rolls Royce and Boeing.
Spices were used to make part of the artwork which is taken from historical perspective and I took The Age of Discovery as the starting point for this work where the West started their voyages to the East in search of resources (spices) which end up with hundreds of years of colonization and the newspaper were an exploration in our relationship with the mass media.
Title: En Flygtning krydser sit Spor / A Fugitive Crosses his Track
@ Land Art at Thingbæk Kalkminer, Denmark
Duration: 30 mins
Year: 2014
An art performance inspired by the Norwegian/Danish author Axel Sandemose’s novel called A fugitive crosses his tracks. The novel describes a village life where social and moral standards are dictated by the Jantelaw. The law among other states that you’re not to think that you are anything special, as good as or better than anybody else.
This performance addresses the exercising of power, migration, crossing boundaries and tracks to fit in and integrate. The wheel of hay is a symbol of the wheel of life. Where does it takes us? And do we dare to break out of the boundaries where we feel safe and blend in with the crowd?
The act of rolling the hay in a small town in Jutland is symbolic to my life journey, and my attempts to fit into new surrounding. As an immigrant living in a new country and also a person that is used to the city life, I still feel like an outsider in many cases.
‘ A fugitive crosses his tracks’ is an art performance inspired by the Norwegian/ Danish author Axel Sandemose’s novel called ‘A fugitive crosses his tracks’. The novel describes a village life where the Jantelaw dictates social and moral standards. The law among other states that, you’re not to think that you are anything special, as good or better as we are.
Duration: 30 mins
Year: 2014
An art performance inspired by the Norwegian/Danish author Axel Sandemose’s novel called A fugitive crosses his tracks. The novel describes a village life where social and moral standards are dictated by the Jantelaw. The law among other states that you’re not to think that you are anything special, as good as or better than anybody else.
This performance addresses the exercising of power, migration, crossing boundaries and tracks to fit in and integrate. The wheel of hay is a symbol of the wheel of life. Where does it takes us? And do we dare to break out of the boundaries where we feel safe and blend in with the crowd?
The act of rolling the hay in a small town in Jutland is symbolic to my life journey, and my attempts to fit into new surrounding. As an immigrant living in a new country and also a person that is used to the city life, I still feel like an outsider in many cases.
‘ A fugitive crosses his tracks’ is an art performance inspired by the Norwegian/ Danish author Axel Sandemose’s novel called ‘A fugitive crosses his tracks’. The novel describes a village life where the Jantelaw dictates social and moral standards. The law among other states that, you’re not to think that you are anything special, as good or better as we are.
Title: Box
Three days performance in
Title: Classification Stamp
A project to bring awareness on addressing issues on labelling
100 rubberstamps with different text on it is used for an art performance I organized. Some of the text includes love, hate, approved, reject, exotic, migrants, freedom
I wanted to make awareness that addresses issues on labelling. I am hoping to help breaking down some existing barriers, both within and outside the existing arts system
(Arta Ghavami-Khesal and Amir Zainorin have both been accepted to the Danish Arts Council’s mentor programme for intercultural artists. Is it a seal of approval from the Danish art support system to be classified as an intercultural artist? What barriers might this involve? And how do Danish cultural institutions receive intercultural artists? These are some of the questions that Ghavami-Khesal and Zainorin will put up for debate in their performative video installation created as a part of the Arts Council’s interdisciplinary seminar Invitation to the Possible).
100 rubberstamps with different text on it is used for an art performance I organized. Some of the text includes love, hate, approved, reject, exotic, migrants, freedom
I wanted to make awareness that addresses issues on labelling. I am hoping to help breaking down some existing barriers, both within and outside the existing arts system
(Arta Ghavami-Khesal and Amir Zainorin have both been accepted to the Danish Arts Council’s mentor programme for intercultural artists. Is it a seal of approval from the Danish art support system to be classified as an intercultural artist? What barriers might this involve? And how do Danish cultural institutions receive intercultural artists? These are some of the questions that Ghavami-Khesal and Zainorin will put up for debate in their performative video installation created as a part of the Arts Council’s interdisciplinary seminar Invitation to the Possible).
Title: Stamp Power (a
Performance – Self organized in collaboration with Aida Redza
Location: Immigration office Copenhagen
Year: 2011
Duration: 1 hour
I did this performance with Aida Redza - the performance artist who inspired me in making performance art. We did this performance in two places, one in front if the Immigration Office in Copenhagen and another one in front of Den Frie - an exhibition space in Copenhagen.
In the performance at the Immigration office in Copenhagen, I placed a table and a chair in front of the office and dressed myself up as an “immigration officer” and stamped words on pieces of paper using rubber stamps. Words included Approve, Rejected, Alien, Other, Exotic, Obey
This performance addresses the issue on migration and the challenges that one has to face in order to adapt oneself in a new culture and social structure
This spontaneous public art performance drew curiosity from the people that passed by and those that were going to the Immigration office. Some stopped to ask me what I was doing and started to play along with the performance and some actually thought that I was working for the Immigration office. By doing this performance in a public space outside the Immigration Office I was able to create a temporary alternative environment where anxiety producing and depressing reality was subverted through play.
Location: Immigration office Copenhagen
Year: 2011
Duration: 1 hour
I did this performance with Aida Redza - the performance artist who inspired me in making performance art. We did this performance in two places, one in front if the Immigration Office in Copenhagen and another one in front of Den Frie - an exhibition space in Copenhagen.
In the performance at the Immigration office in Copenhagen, I placed a table and a chair in front of the office and dressed myself up as an “immigration officer” and stamped words on pieces of paper using rubber stamps. Words included Approve, Rejected, Alien, Other, Exotic, Obey
This performance addresses the issue on migration and the challenges that one has to face in order to adapt oneself in a new culture and social structure
This spontaneous public art performance drew curiosity from the people that passed by and those that were going to the Immigration office. Some stopped to ask me what I was doing and started to play along with the performance and some actually thought that I was working for the Immigration office. By doing this performance in a public space outside the Immigration Office I was able to create a temporary alternative environment where anxiety producing and depressing reality was subverted through play.