Six international curators from the Norient community have researched contemporary music videos that re-imagine, parody, or deconstruct Orientalism. The final selection is presented in the virtual exhibition «DisOrient: Welcome to the Hall of Mirrors», which is part of the German festival Mannheimer Sommer. Here is the shortlist by curator and designer Basak Senova, who focuses on videos from Türkiye.
Music: Ceza
Video: Esen Entertainment
Track: Türk Marşı (Türkiye, 2012)
Around 1783, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the «Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major» (K. 331/300i) in three movements and, inspired by Ottoman military bands, he titled the last movement «Alla turca». In 2012, Turkish artist Ceza was rapping over the Turkish march by Mozart (1783) with non-traditional beats. Ottoman military bands had a specific style of walking that eventually became an idiom in Turkish culture: «two steps forward and one step back». Ceza’s lyrics question progression in society and politics, while the clip challenges the circulation of the clichéd images between two mentally static poles: the East and the West (read more in this commentary on the video).
Music: Korhan Futacı feat. Haluk Bilginer
Video: Korhan Futacı
Track: ah güzel kafam (Türkiye, 2020)
Featuring the internationally acclaimed actor Haluk Bilginer, this clip takes place in the narrow streets of Cihangir, the bohemian and diverse neighbourhood in Istanbul. The clip brings all the possible schizophrenic messages and images together. The song also inserts the sound of zurna (a wind instrument from central Eurasia) along with saxophone. By replacing images of the Gezi Park protests with images of vegan propaganda, the clip talks about the post-Gezi trauma by disguising it with a state of being high.
Music: Ayben
Video: Atıf Ülkü
Track: Başkan (Türkiye, 2017)
This rap clip was dedicated to violently silenced women. It criticizes the governing politics and indifference of the society. Furthermore, the clip uses all of the possible Orientalist and mainstream clichés together to form a genre-based provoking visual language: belly dancers, zil, zurna, cheerleaders, çengi, boxers, fancy cars, etc.
Music: Palmiyeler
Video: Mertcan Mertbilek
Track: Derine (Türkiye, 2018)
This animated clip was produced by the members of the band and depicts a non-linear narration through characters extracted from tarot cards. Promoted as «tropic and psychedelic pop, bringing serious lyrics darkened by Istanbul’s genuine chaos», the clip uses tarot decks originating from 18th century Europe.
Music: Gaye Su Akyol
Video: İnan Tuncay
Track: İstikrarlı Hayal Hakikattir (Türkiye, 2019)
This clip uses all of the kitsch signifiers and the visual manifestations of Arabesk culture of the 1990s in Türkiye. With the process of internal migration during the 1980s and 1990s, cultural productions were generated in this culture as a reaction against a nationalist-state dependent on Western paradigms.