Snur Project

Border Project
2008-7-1

From ‘Gama’ (Game) to ‘Snur’ (Border)

‘Snur’ (Border), the second project, came after ‘Gama’ (Game), the first project and artistic exhibition that took place last year. Both projects have been undertaken by a group of young artists.

‘Snur’ is a term with multiple dimensions and directions of meaning, all of which are generated through the process of targeting the contemporary audience. Despite the multiple dimensions of meaning, the term ‘Snur’ has a particular and special place in Kurdish memory and is easily located in our local stories. At the same time, the term does not agree with a modern perspective. The concept is based on erasing, deconstructing and breaking all of the signs. The term ‘Snur’ can be interpreted through the perspective of post-modernism as a text. Because of the authority of the signifiers, interpretation returns to the zero point, and from this point it is reconstructed to become sources for others. This changes the process of discovery to the process of restructuring. All of these transactions produce a hermeneutics of text / ‘Snur’. In this process, all of the signifiers work on themselves and renew themselves. Post-modernism is a deconstruction of the term ‘Snur’ with all of the dimensions that are uploaded within a nihilistic position. ‘Snur’ in this concept presents a spatial term, which is a product of history, the grand narratives, stability and identity. All of these were born from a holistic rationalism. And as far as the meaning of nationalism is concerned, rationalism is the production of a country, where the existing and knowing of a country are broadcast through the border. From a different perspective, country / ‘Snur’ exist because of a modern perspective.

If the concept of the project is the erasing of the term ‘Snur’ (as an artificial border that segmented Kurdistan) in order to reconstruct a wider border that encompasses a greater Kurdistan, the discourse of this text shows a modern perspective in the artistic context of post-modernism (land art and performance). In the process of dislocation and segmentation, the owner of the text / artist and text / production will be present in the mind of the Kurdish audience.

Even if all of the concept works towards the deconstruction of the term ‘Snur’, it will still contain the view of humanity, which is part of the post-modern perspective. This perspective wants to destroy the meaning of ‘Snur’ literally and metaphorically, so that there will be one nation for all of humanity wherever they are standing. Jacques Derrida talks about the concept of the spatial: ‘With the new technologies, the politics of ownership will be changed and the colour of that issue will fade.’

Wahby Rasul
24 sep 2008

Location is "Byara" border between Iraq and Iran.

2008-7-1

Talar

The circle is a fixed dimension .Each half of the circle is located in one country. It has a special taste for a place situated between two cultures and two countries.

Talar

Ranj

One hundred times of going and returning between (Iran & Iraq) .It is a game within a travel through a confined place

Ranj

Farman

it is a merging in which the location reunified and becomes a free extension for pacing

Farman

Xalid Muhammed

Xalid

Btwen

Relaxing outside the border for a short time and enjoying the freedom which is not easy to get

Btwen

Azar

It is a simple motif form coming as a result of location, concept, time, fear and movement factors. Once more, it is a border creation which is produced by man.

Azar

Shene

Aryan

The borders are like the lines, and the lines are existed everywhere. And at any time, on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. New lines will be created and the old ones are continued. The lines increase and decrease . I have never dared to draw one single line to make a performance, but now I think the performance has been implemented through drawing eight lines with a number of pieces and different types of the lines.

Aryan

Kashan

line is with its all types reveals all its decisive direction. At the same time the border line is a fixed one, but in this work of mine the line specifies its color, size and direction in an open space and reveres the border.

Kashan

Shabang

Zana

Permanent border between Iraq and Iran is a prominent and fixed truth. In Biara area, a small stream makes this border. My work is to reflect itself, at the same time it is a five dimension sight of this area which becomes a separate part in the location a that moment

Zana