SpiRituals [2007]

Installation view The 3rd Biennale of Contemporary Art, Bourges, France

One narrative in a 4 screen videoinstallation with sound, syncronised in a 15 min. loop.
The sound comes from each of the screens, and appears louder when you are close to each of
the screens. One of the screens is a map of the appartment, that is the setup of the video or
performance of the 3 participants. The title and credits appear on all the screens in the begin-
ning and in the end.

What is the relationship between different "others" or minorities, the re-use of cultural
empowerment and identification and/or social hierarchy of different groups of migrants?
As an undefinable minority, there is a task of re-inventing a full representation of a person.
Maybe even how you walk, talk, eat, what you write, how you sing.
Often a minority will identify or lend from other previous minority cultures, i.e. the african-
american.

In a four room apartment, we meet Daniel, Kyung Yeon and Kate, two asian emmigrants
and a korean adoptee. Having professional jobs in IT, shipping logistics and arts, they
seem to be "the model minority", with all the reductions that also comes with that.
How does an asian man in the west express his emotions through singing, for instance?
Different tasks where given to the three performers, to create a physical experience, and
filmed. They where asked to write a personal essay, to do a daily routine, to walk with
closed eyes in the dark, and to sing how they remember the gospel ”Sometimes I feel
like a motherless child”, an old spiritual made known by the african american composer
Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949).

Title:   ”SpiRituals”
Prod. year:    2006
Duration:   12:00 min. looped.
Director:    Jette Hye Jin Mortensen
Cast:    Daniel Bastian Tandjung, Kim Kyung Yeon, Kate Hers
Camera:    Morten Borik
Editor:    Jette Hye Jin Mortensen
Installation:   Videoinstallation with sound, 4 syncronized projections 

 Installation View