The Euphoric Nights in Vienna: Here and Elsewhere
Asmahan, a Syrian princess, singer, and film diva, sang "Layali Al-ons fi Vienna/The Euphoric Nights in Vienna" as part of her film "Passion and Revenge" in 1944, during the heavy bombing of Vienna by the Allies during World War II. The song celebrates Vienna as a place of youth and beauty; in her own words, “heaven on earth," “a city full of love and music, which upon hearing the birds weep and sing along." With this song, Asmahan manufactured an Arab fantasy for the European city; even though she had never visited Vienna, neither did the writer nor the composer.
A myth of Vienna has been created that has affected the desires and hopes of travelers and immigrants from the Middle East until today and shaped their expectations of a presumed paradise whispered to them by her.
The ongoing dominance of this song unintentionally creates a constant confrontation between Vienna, a European city, and the Middle East. As a result of this confrontation, we find ourselves caught between Asmahan's creation and reality. Hence, these questions now arise: considering our current political situation, does it make more sense if this song was made nowadays? Could the selection of Vienna for this manifestation not have been random? Is it only about Vienna? Or could it be any other European city, such as Paris?
Layering and juxtaposing disparate elements and fragmented pieces of Vienna with the show space. ”Here and Elsewhere” is a site-specific video installation that aims to bring this confrontation to a meeting point. By (rotoscoping) extracting Asmahan from the original video, which depicts her standing on a fake theater stage, portraying European architectural elements, and compositing her back with another staged space within the exhibition space, By incorporating the same camera movement from the original video into the new one, the overlapping imagery evokes a sense of the song's original stage setting. Nevertheless, something does not seem to add up, as we do not see the presence of Asmahan alone, but other elements from the original video sneak into the new one as well, giving the work an unsettling, morose quality.
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Stills, The Euphoric Nights in Vienna: Here and Elsewhere, Site-specific Video Installation, 10’45”, 2019