Of keys and pigeons…
Bidoun meets the artists - interview with Shahram Entekhabi
By Alia Rayyan

A man in a gray suit and white shirt stands somewhat remotely at the edge of a weekly market and allows the crowd to push by him. His attention is drawn to one of the passers-by, who bears a surprising resemblance to him. In a hectic, tense fashion, he begins to pursue the man, which leads him through streets, tunnels, house entranceways – until he arrives at his own doorstep. Has he followed himself?

Shahram Entekhabi quietly watches the video projection “i?”, a work in ten episodes which depicts the everyday life of the protagonist “O”, played by Enthekabi himself. A game of perception and observations of the self. The plot of the video by Shahram Entekhabi is not only reminiscent of the film classic “Film” by Samuel Beckett with Buster Keaton – it can also be understood as a reference to the subject of interpretation from the viewpoint of an immigrant.

Entekhabi is one of ten artists with a commissioned work in the exhibit “Distant Nearness – Positions of Iranian Artists” (Kilid). Concurrently, a solo exhibition of his video work is featured in the Play gallery in Berlin Mitte. Bidoun met the artist in Berlin and spoke with him about his video work “i?”, the accompanying workshop for young people from Berlin and the exhibition in the House of World Cultures.

Entekhabi belongs to a generation of exile artists that haven’t been back to Iran in 25 years. The 52-year old projects an air of relaxation and ease. A prominent pair of black glasses dominates his face. His look is perfectly suited to the style of Berlin Mitte. Outwardly political, his artistic work concentrates on themes of the human microcosm. “In the film, I observe myself,” Entekhabi explains. “My ‘self’ is separated into two people. One is fully integrated and involved with daily happenings. The other always arrives a bit too late – stands in front of locked doors, gets lost. Even if Entekhabi is clearly recognizable as the protagonist “O”, his face is always partially concealed and remains in obscurity. A blade scrapes across O’s face. One can hear the breathing, the water and the scratch of the sharp edge. Despite being shot in close-up, the viewer is held at a distance.

“I am interested in exactly that moment in which you are at one with yourself; when you have no gender, no nationality, no age. I was looking for moments in which one is completely alone. For example, the sound of the shower or the scrapes of the razor. Then you suddenly notice something which brings you back to reality. At this point, you are once again confronted with your physicality, with the location, the environment. My work “i?” revolves around this search, the search for a “self”.

At first, the nine young people in the workshop could relate neither to the subject of “identity” nor to a film language à la Beckett. According to Entekhabi, only during the practical realization were they able to display their true strengths. The three productions can be viewed in the gallery. “Without consciously doing so, in the end they chose a similar film language to that of Beckett. In the process, an authenticity was created which some video artists are able to hide behind. However, these films don’t have anything to do with the subject of immigration or being on the outside. These young people haven’t yet been confronted with their own “difference”. Many are already from a fourth generation of immigrants and approach this subject in a very different way. Perhaps because the clichés are more deeply rooted or obvious. Belonging to a clique and behavioral roles are much more important.” Role play and clique membership seem to dominate the exhibition “Distant Nearness”. Shahram