Press release, 5th of August, 2014
Open call for Volunteers for a Performative Action by Khaled Jarrar (Palestine) On Power, Dis-/Obedience and War
Meeting point for volunteers: LASIPALATSI SQUARE at 5pm on Tuesday, 26 August
Performance: The action starts at 6:30pm in front of the Old Student House, passes through the streets of Helsinki, and culminates with a march TO THE SQUARE (Lasipalatsin Aukio).
For his new performative artwork, Khaled Jarrar is looking for 50 volunteers – of all age and kind. As a former bodyguard of President Arafat of PLO/Palestinian Authority, Jarrar will train the volunteers to march in a specially coordinated movement through the streets of Helsinki. This performative action questions the military regimentation of the body, mass obedience and programmed behaviour, while emphasizing the responsibility of the individual, and the case for resistance and civil or military disobedience. Especially in conflict situations such as the violence which has scarred his home in Palestine/Israel, taking responsibility can change lives.
Following his well-loved “Hunger (Bread) Wall” on Helsinki’s Baana in the spring of this year, which was part of BACK TO (THE) SQUARE 1, Khaled Jarrar new work “On Power, Dis-/Obedience and War” is part of the second edition of Perpetuum Mobilε’s commission for Checkpoint Helsinki: TO THE SQUARE 2.
TO THE SQUARE 2 connects seven artistic-political projects, a newspaper and a radio station, with contributors from across continents. The project will unfold in a ever-changing series of events taking place on Helsinki’s central Lasipalatsi Square from 18–31 August, and around the city. On the 22 August a public discussion about the future of Lasipalatsi Square itself is scheduled, involving all local stakeholders of this public space – including Helsinki residents, the Lasipalatsi Media Center, mbar and Amos Anderson Museum. The grand opening will be held on the 29 August, followed by a concert on the square with Ramy Essam, the celebrated musician of the Egyptian Revolution.
Curated by Ivor Stodolsky and Marita Muukkonen, TO THE SQUARE 2 is part of the RE-ALIGNED Project of Perpetuum Mobilε, commissioned by Checkpoint Helsinki as part of Helsinki Festival.
Practicalities for Volunteers:
To join and volunteer, please send an e-mail to Stephanie Roiko (stephanie@hiap.fi) at HIAP, our much valued partner in the project, by the 15th of August. Please provide your name, age and your shirt, trouser and boot size. You will get a confirmation and further instructions in advance of the performance. The meeting place for volunteers is at 5pm on Lisipalatsi Square. The training will take approx. 1,5 hours, following which the group will perform in the streets and public squares of Helsinki for approx. 30-40 minutes.
For more information on the wider project see:
Checkpoint Helsinki: www.checkpointhelsinki.org/fi/ohjelma/to-the-square-2, Facebook www.facebook.com/CheckpointHelsinki
Perpetuum Mobile: https://www.re-aligned.net/press-release-square-2-takes-lasipalatsi-square-august
For news and updates see https://www.facebook.com/PerpetualMobile.org
Curators: Ivor Stodolsky and Marita Muukkonen, tel. +358 440 965 103, perpetualmobile(at)gmail.com
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Short bio of Khaled Jarrar
In his artistic work in multiple genres – including photography, video, performance and sculpture – Khaled Jarrar interrogates issues often related to the problematic situation in his native country. As a former personal bodyguard of the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Jarrar is particularly concerned with the question of recognition of the State of Palestine. Having become an artist, he uses his experience as a means of thinking through the questions of armed conflict, soldierhood and nationhood, home and belonging. Jarrar is also a filmmaker, whose documentary “The Infiltrators” (2012) was screened in Helsinki as part of Back to (The) Square 1 in March 2014.
