Made by Taliban (moving image) Shot in London, Turkey (2022)
Made by Taliban (2022)
This project is based on the war on terror in Afghanistan. For 20 years, the social Darwinian group has gradually detached itself from the rights conferred by democracy in unrestricted liberalism. Violence-based democratic expansion has not brought prosperity to the United States or to the nations and peoples of war zones. The ruins, the starving refugees, and the collateral damage of the war are constantly manifesting. If the basic principle of democracy is freedom and equality, as John Rawls said in A Theory of Justice, then whether the war on terror itself has become a paradox. Austrian political economist Joseph Schumpeter believed that democracy is a mind, not an end. Does the U.S. withdrawal in 2021 mean that the Western democratic system, which has lost the principle of justice, has completely alienated into the uncontrollable desire of human beings, and has become a utopian democratic fantasy?
This is a slightly satirical film about the self-justification of Western democracy represented by the United States. This internal belief in freedom is changing the United States, and at the same time, changes in the situation in Afghanistan are constantly "enriching" the concept of democracy in the United States. Perhaps the emphasis on the "beacon of human rights" is no longer in the interests of the moment, and instead it is in the company of the “winners".
Taliban flag (charcoal drawing) drawn in London (2022)
Painting method: painting on canvas
Materials: charcoal, linen, resin
The national flag is evidence of the existence of a regime or organization. It has nothing to do with legality, but a means for the subject of rights to express ideology. In the video, I constantly switch between night vision goggles and video recorders to provide the audience with a sense of stability but also unpredictability, in response to the elusive relationship between the newly established Taliban regime and Western democracies. This is a process of adaptation of established democratic regimes to emerging religious regimes.
The pigments used to make the flag come from natural charcoal and linen. The black produced by charcoal has stable color fixation. At the same time, this is also because of the destruction and burning of a large number of forests in Afghanistan. These are all due to the direct damage caused by the bombing and the energy shortage caused by the blockade, which caused local civilians to log for heating. I crushed the charcoal with a hammer I found in an abandoned building, mixed it with resin using tools made from beef bones, made a grainy paint, and applied it to natural linen. The rough charcoal keeps pricking my fingers, reminding me of the human suffering caused by war.
Photo was shot on November 8, 2022
Since 9/11, the United States has experienced four presidential changes. It can be clearly seen that the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan has become a trend until Biden implements it. Whether it is fighting terrorist organizations, killing Osama bin Laden, or destroying the Taliban's chemical laboratory in Afghanistan. The US military strike in Afghanistan seems to be based on the morally correct side. However, regardless of the incident itself, it is difficult to say that this is not a long-term "terrorism" simply by looking at military strikes.
This is not just a mockery, but an expression of the hypocrisy of "democracy". When the United States promotes the Taliban's violation of women's and children's rights in its film and television works, whether the civilian damage caused by the large-scale use of modern weapons against the Afghan mainland is worse than that of the Taliban. I have labeled each president's name and term of office in the poster in Pashto language (these terms began on 9/11 and were the first, second, third, and fourth Taliban leaders).
At the same time, these images are used in videos and scenes. Pasted on the wall in a simple manner, they are derived from depictions of Al Qaeda environments in American films. An easy, low-cost way to express your faith.