Voicelessness and Voice

Two channel video installation / 02:57 min

*Voicelessness and Voice- Video 1 + 2 should be played simultaneously.

2009

Documenting my current life and the trajectory of my movements led me to explore the idea of male-female dynamics of authority and power. This started to emerge in my project “Voice / Voicelessness”, two animated installations: a diagram and a graph.

This project is a map that deconstructs time, space, and the movements of my personal narrative, and projecting the never-ending process of self-discovery. The concept behind this map is the use of numbers to dictate age, days spent over many geographic landscapes, and miles travelled. This project is a confrontation of my present situation as a diasporic Iraqi woman who has lived in many different geographic locations between the Middle East and North America (back and forth) and traversed thousands of miles. “Voicelessness”, the diagram animation, reveals my helpless position at that time and place. It reflects my realization that not only was my voice not heard through my “Rihla” (classical Arabic term for Journey), but also that the decisions for these movements were taken from one side; the male figure of the family. On the other hand, the graph animation “Voice” reflects my imagined position in taking the steps forward in my life, which motivated me to take fiction to reality and make stronger decisions for my movements. Therefore, I decided to empower that part of my living history, rather than bury it.