Rebel Karaoke is precisely what it says it is: a sing-and-shout-along machine for engaging in revolutionary songs and chants. All of them were recorded on a street near you…

This audiovisual installation includes material from the latest political events and demonstrations in Russia, Turkey, Egypt, the USA  and elsewhere around the world. The viewer is familiarized with many forms of protest, including demonstrations and other rallies in Russian, Turkish, Arabic and English. The karaoke videos often include phonetic subtitles, to aid those inexperienced chanting or singing in a foreign language.

According the young Moscow-based artist Ivan Brazhkin, as a spectator-participant, one is given the possibility to express solidarity with the actors and movements by joining the protesters and chanting their progressive political slogans with them. He insists that the work pushes the viewer to merge with the protesting masses and acquire a political identity.

This is not so far fetched as it seems, as shouting on a quiet day, or indeed any day, in Tromsø Kunstforening, will draw a lot of attention, in this town where few demonstrations usually take place…