The glimpses on the culture of repression

Jagdish Chandra

Hasan Al-Saidi’s[1] untitled participatory performance which started as a provocation, provocation not to hert anyone but as a request to perform, and Hasan gave this provocation a different form – a form of provocation and think about existing realities of life and art. This brief review is on a participatory performance held at ‘We have found it’[2] place (Kruti’s & Todd Raschell’s Home) in May 2006 and interaction between performer Hasan Al-Saidi and audience/spectators are crucial elements.

For Hasan participation of audiences/spectators are not reduced to the “found objects” but he sees them as subject and through them he reconstructs the untold or forgotten stories “about the loss of innocent civilians life in the war” that is about the massacres at the Headiths village in the Iraq last year by American soldier as true example of restoring democracy and creating the new examples of inhumanity.

In an attempt to mock on the real situation but at the same time create distance between armored soldiers, and the guise of soldier taken by Hasan, laced with kitchenwares stands in an action of shooting and aiming towards sleeping participants. The domestic settings, sleeping participants and the guise of soldiers taken by Hasan points towards disarmed and innocent civilians locked in their houses but unsecured.

This performance by Hasan starts without any dialogue, text or any hint – he just starts like a flash in the clouds – in the midnight where the fellow participant after food are sleeping, which was shocking as well as disturbing for the observing participants – has Hasan successfully leased out the effects of the shameful events taking place everyday in Iraq and from which they have no escape except to hear the chilling flashes of arsenals before seeing the mercenaries.

Hasan’s role as a soldier with kitchenware also stripes the image of American troops as angels of god protecting the law of justice, but shows them as devil’s dogs devouring innocent children, women and men using all their power to establish rule of ruthless law of barbarism.
[1] One version (tempered) is available on http://moaseptember.nucleation.net/Features35.html
. Hasan Explains a Few Things. In the original piece submitted to them Are in black color. When I asked to the editor cum writer that why they put my small piece in bits and pieces and without any reference to the title of my small piece. They gave a very convincing answer that as mine piece doesn’t carry complete information so they have to do like that. But I felt more offended after reading that piece because purposefully I was not using any quote or poetry, and secondly I did not want to reduce act/performance of Hasan as Iraqi, in exile based in Delhi – as most of the time these identifications reifies any expression, and any agency or institution make claim about their progressiveness and humanism by reducing these acts. I am not saying that what I am saying is correct, but I am putting my thoughts to be counterchecked by any reader, writer or performer.

[2] ‘We have found it’ came to exist which sole credit goes to Todd and partially to Kruti. There is an art foundation in Delhi popular as ‘Khoj’ which means in search of – this group invites artist from across the world but most of the artist visits from America, Europe, Canada and Scandinavian countries, and has funding from British Council, Canadian art Institution, and Austrialian agencies.
After one jam packed performance Todd said what they (Khoj) are searching ‘we have found it’ which was there house in Delhi at Defence Colony. And immediately after that it becomes a place to gather there on every Saturday, where one can read her/his paper, poetry, or perform there in any form, like Todd’s guru played Sitar. Shakeel performed by cooking Chana-keema.