For whom mourn the passing of monsters

December 2010

"For whom mourn the passing of monsters is a video produced after the artist spent days tying strings around flies' necks and documenting their plight. Khan meticulously recorded the fly's desperate attempts at flight and the subsequent inability for it to do so. Flight, of a bird or animal, is commonly equated with freedom. The allusion the video makes to the fly's inability to fly freely, subverts the equation evoking both sympathy and empathy. One feels for the fly that cannot get away -- stuck yet always hopeful of a forthcoming escape or freedom. For whom mourn the passing of monsters may act as a playful metaphor for the absurd and illusionary nature of freedom. In the context of this exhibition, the tied fly becomes emblematic of the world's naivety, as we imagine freedom is a choice or that it could ever be found within the tight grip of an all-consuming future."

- Jennifer Junkermeier, 5C5C Exhibition Catalog

Material: Single channel video, Loudspeaker, monitor or projector

Dimensions: Variable

Exhibitions +

2012, A&D Slusser Gallery, Ann Arbor, USA

2011, 5C5C Rome, CIAC, Rome, Italy