Diver
The video proposes to bridge that gap through the formal abstraction of color; it follows the movements of synchronized swimmers wearing dichroic body suits akin to the sheen of both pearls and oil, fully choreographed to a traditional pearl-diving song.
The use of these bodies as ornamentation manifests the placement of these histories in contemporary society – as embellishment and décor – but at the same time reflects the artist’s absolute effort to sincerely articulate them as a solid component of regional identity through exhausting physical action.
With
- Isabelle Tan
- Carly Athawes
- Zsofia Peres
- Daria Galkina
Crew
Written and Directed by | Monira Al Qadiri |
Cinematography | Elias Trad |
Editing | Vartan Avakian |
Costumes | Jasmina Popov-Locke |
Production Manager | Ezzat Al-Hamwi |
Producer | Monira Al Qadiri |
Produced by
Monira Al Qadiri
Monira Al Qadiri
Monira Al Qadiri is a Kuwaiti visual artist born in Senegal and educated in Japan. In 2010 she received a PhD in inter-media art from Tokyo University of the Arts, where her research was focused on the aesthetics of sadness in the Middle East, stemming from poetry, music, art, and religious practices. Al Qadiri is currently living and working between Beirut and Berlin.
Filmography
2005 Visual Violence 2007 WAHIDA · Nightmare · Prism 2008 Wa Waila (Oh Torment) 2012 Rumors of Affluence 2013 Abu Athiyya (Father of Pain) · Behind the Sun; 10 min., Forum Expanded 2014 2014 SOAP · Travel Prayer 2017 The Craft 2018 Diver
Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019