I SEE NO GOD UP HERE
TOO MUCH HEAVEN ON OUR MIND
Images of two shows about the Old Testament monster Ziz at Atelier Arthur Rogiers, Brussels (BE) and Kolektiv queerANarchive, Split (HR)
I see no God up here
video stills
I see no God up here is the main video in an installation of 5 videos, weaving a narrative around the Old Testament monster Ziz and the importance of ‘the skies’ in recent global histories.
Ziz, with Leviathan and Behemoth, is part of a trinity of monsters, the latter two synonymous with power and empire, as well as megalomania and the grotesque. Countries that expanded via land routes were written about as ‘Behemoth’, the king of the mammals, while sea trading countries as ‘Leviathan’, the king of the fish.
Since the era of the USSR – USA Space Race, the third monster, Ziz, king of the birds, has come out of its obscurity. Controlling technology and media from the skies above, Ziz orbits the world as a battery of satellites transmitting waves of information.
I see no God up here is the first chapter in an ongoing series about the mythical creature, offering yet another world-historical meditation.
Tweeeet, tweeeet, tweeeeet
Video and bird sculptures
5 ancient bird sculptures, early images of humanity’s desire to fly, are talking about how Ziz has risen to power due to people’s desire of progress. This video also includes an interview with Jo Decoster, the director of the fictional Royal Archaeology institute, Brussels.
(Clay, nail polish, electricity wires)
Space Dubris
Nine historic satellites, that shaped the course of history, are floating in deep space. This installation shows a television screen posing as a solar panel on a rooftop. The images show satellite sculptures made of clay and nailpolish that float in front of nailpolish paintings of James Webb telescope images.
(Clay, tiles, nail polish, screen)
We’re all Tools
The smartphone shows a slideshow of the history of all the tools that were necessary for humanity to fly. From stone age tools to rocket engines, it is a documentation of the progress that was needed for our current sky dominated society.
(clay, metal, nailpolish, smartphone)
Video for a windscape park proposal, located at the Benhaddou Aït oasis, Morocco. A river of life, as described in Ezekiel 47, that flows out of the abandoned movie prop, the Porte des Arabs of Lawrence of Arabia.
(clay, ytong, wood, model paint, nail polish)