NORWEGIAN CODE
Norwegian Code (2014 - Winner of prize for the most outstanding audio-visual piece - Østlandsutstillingen 2015)
Video (color, sound), 5’53 min.
Shwan Dler Qaradaki’s video piece is simple and straightforward in its presentation of a complex issue. In terms of genre, the video echoes informational films, albeit with a sprinkling of webcam aesthetics and TV humour. The simplicity of style accommodates a thought-provoking array of stereotypes. Here, elements such as the traditionally patterned knitted cardigan, fibreglass wallpaper, and a sign-language interpreter inset in the corner of the TV screen enhance familiar characteristics of Norwegian social behaviour. The humorous aspect of the piece is well-seasoned with a significant dose of anger as the artist addresses his “new countrymen” with a handful of succinct facts concerning the Norwegian temperament and day-to-day culture. He confidently positions himself as a representative of the hegemonic culture, but in such a way that 'Norwegian-ness' is given a comic tone. Moreover, the artist has added a new word to the Norwegian language: “inward-positivity
Norwegian Code (2014 - Winner of prize for the most outstanding audio-visual piece - Østlandsutstillingen 2015)
Video (color, sound), 5’53 min.
Shwan Dler Qaradaki’s video piece is simple and straightforward in its presentation of a complex issue. In terms of genre, the video echoes informational films, albeit with a sprinkling of webcam aesthetics and TV humour. The simplicity of style accommodates a thought-provoking array of stereotypes. Here, elements such as the traditionally patterned knitted cardigan, fibreglass wallpaper, and a sign-language interpreter inset in the corner of the TV screen enhance familiar characteristics of Norwegian social behaviour. The humorous aspect of the piece is well-seasoned with a significant dose of anger as the artist addresses his “new countrymen” with a handful of succinct facts concerning the Norwegian temperament and day-to-day culture. He confidently positions himself as a representative of the hegemonic culture, but in such a way that 'Norwegian-ness' is given a comic tone. Moreover, the artist has added a new word to the Norwegian language: “inward-positivity
