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Deconstructing Osama, 2007

Chromogenic color print.

[ENG] This is an ironic work of parody in which the artist disguises himself as an Islamic terrorist, by wearing a fake beard and Arabic attire. By manipulating photos and videos from the Al Yazira channel, the artist places himself in the scenes, superimposing his face to the body of Bin Laden. While one listens to the voice of the terrorist and the subtitles appear in Arabic Fontcuberta actually recites The Pirate’s Song poem written by Espronceda.

As the artist states: “I play with the idea that all these terrorists were actually actors hired by intelligence services in order to represent the villains. That is an idea that has gone through the heads of many people. It simply seems impossible that in that world in a cave in some place in Afghanistan, these home videos, with such a domestic aesthetic, are all real. It becomes unbelievable that some people that had the technological capacity to organize 9-11, the sophistication and the money, are not able to film a video as God orders.”

[CAST] Se trata de un trabajo irónico, de parodia de situación, en el que el artista se disfraza de terrorista islámico, con barba e indumentaria árabe. Mediante la manipulación de videos y fotos procedentes de la cadena Al Yazira, el artista se introduce en ellos, uniendo su cara al cuerpo de Bin Laden. Mientras se escucha la voz del terrorista y aparecen los subtítulos en árabe recita en realidad el poema La canción del pirata, de Espronceda.

En palabras del artista: "Juego con la idea de que todos estos terroristas fueran en realidad actores contratados por servicios de inteligencia para representar a los villanos. Ésa es una idea que le ha pasado por la cabeza a mucha gente. Sencillamente parece imposible que ese mundo de la cueva en algún lugar de Afganistán, esos vídeos caseros, de estética tan doméstica, sea todo algo real. Resulta increíble que a unos tipos que tuvieron la capacidad tecnológica suficiente para montar y realizar el 11-S, la sofisticación y el dinero no les alcance para grabar unos vídeos como Dios manda."

1. Dr. Fasqiyta-Ul Junat inciting a protest for the Jihad and against Western imperialism, 2001 2. Osama and his faithful deputy inspect a watch position in the border zone of Kurgan-Tyube in Tajikistan, 2002 3. Manbaa Mokfhi in an intimate setting: the

4. Press related to the affair of Manbaa Mokfhi, alias Dr. Fasqiyta-Ul Junat 5. Manbaa Mokfhi serves as the face of the international campaign of Mecca Cola, 1986