Body, Identity, Performance: Films by Tao Hui and Monira Al Qadiri

谈身体 Talk About Body
Tao Hui, China 2013, 4 Min.

德黑兰的黄昏 The Dusk of Tehran
Tao Hui, China 2014, 4 Min.

演技教程 The Acting Tutorial
Tao Hui, China 2015, 19 Min.

我们共同的形象 Joint Images
Tao Hui, China 2016, 15 Min.

Wa Waila (Oh Torment)
Monira Al Qadiri, Kuwait 2008, 10 Min.

Rumors of Affluence
Monira Al Qadiri, Kuwait 2012,​ 4 Min.

Abu Athiyya (Father of Pain)
Monira Al Qadiri, Kuwait 2013, 6 Min.

SOAP
Monira Al Qadiri, Kuwait 2014,​ 8 Min.

In the video work Talk About Body, Tao sits in a bedroom, wearing a hijab, and as the title suggests, talks about his body. The Dusk of Tehran is a Persian actress' reenactment of the speech that the Hong Kong pop star Anita Mui gave at her final concert. The Acting Tutorial brings together amateur actors for a rehearsal of extreme situations. Joint Images shows a live synchronization of ten randomly selected TV clips, posing questions about the relationship between mass media and acting. Wa Waila (Oh Torment) is a surreal music video based on an old Kuwaiti folk song, where the artist plays the part of the male main singer. Rumors of Affluence addresses the long history of corruption and wealth in Kuwait by tracing the rumors about the stock market crash in the early 1980s up to more recent scandals. Abu Athiyya is a music video based on a lamentation song performed by the southern Iraqi singer Yas Khodhor. Here, Al Qadiri plays the role of the singer, as well as performing a knife-dancing ritual. SOAP juxtaposes the TV soap operas with the migrant workers who are cleaning the luxurious villas the main characters are living in.

Monira Al Qadiri is a Berlin based Kuwaiti artist born in Senegal. She received a PhD in inter-media art from Tokyo University of the Arts, where she researched the aesthetics of sadness in the Middle East in poetry, music, art and religious practices. Her work explores gender identities, petro-cultures and their possible futures, and the legacies of corruption.