“You are not to be taught that you have many enemies that know not why they are so but, like village curs, bark when their fellows do.”
William Shakespeare -Henry VIII, Act II, Scene 4
‘Adjusting the Power’. That is the most basic essence of politics. The act of balancing power between two realms, the internal and the external, is what political science defines as the core of internal politics and external policy (foreign policy). The demarcation line that separates the interior from the exterior delineates ‘us’ from those beyond this boundary, the ‘other.’ This calibration entails situations where the interests of the ‘others’ are intertwined with our benefits, while at times, our concerns clash with those of ‘the other’. Consequently, the interplay between these two realms corresponds with national interests or the inner sphere.
The notion of ‘us’ without the concept of ‘other’ is utterly meaningless, so rulers sometimes highlight the spite of ‘the other’ to showcase their goodwill. This evil ‘other’ is labelled as the ‘enemy’. It may go by various names, but its portrayal resembles a dark silhouette, like the figures in target shooting ranges. “A perpetual enemy that does not exist must be invented” so that war chariots keep running.
The reflective diversity of this notion within language constructs a scenario where the line between actuality and unidentifiable delusion appears as nothing more than a hazy visual or auditory impression, and seeking this truth parallels the iconic cinematic scene featuring a “Room of Mirrors” where shattering the mirrors dissolves this boundary; the distinguishing trait being that what is replicated inside the room is just another representation of itself.
Exhibition space in Künstlerhaus Bethanian, berlin, April 2024
“… This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest, and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away so that no trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”
John, Daniel chapter 11, 31-35
“How does this apotheosis appear in reality? Not one among the tens of thousands who pass by pauses, and not one among the tens of thousands who pause can read the inscription.”
A. base column plan shape, Flour powder
B. projected words
C. paper column and TV
D. big video projector to project the shadow
E. tagged quote paper
F. headphones (Interview)