Three Dead Monkeys
Cover your evils in the false purity of white
Sew the mouths of those that object
Blind the eyes of those that might see
Deafen your ears so as to muffle their screams
Silence the voices of those that remain
So that you may live blissfully in peace
Nikon D70s.
(2009)
The UN has little power to enforce the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There are no penalties to countries that go against it and history has shown us that freedom, justice and regaining these rights lies in the hands of the people.
‘Three Dead Monkeys’ draws inspiration from this fact and atrocities that have been committed throughout history; atrocities that could have come to pass because of inaction and people turning a blind eye; if not through submission and learned helplessness, giving into the oppression of selfish dictators and demagogs. The basis is the Japanese graphic proverb, the ‘Three Wise Monkeys’.
See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil.
This piece was originally exhibited with a pair of headphones that played the above audio on a loop. Visitors were encouraged to listen to the audio while they observed the work. The audio uses sound-bites from various sources, ranging from speeches, interviews, documentaries and live footage of protests. They span a wide range of topics, from behavioral experiments such as the Milgram Experiment and the Stanford Prison experiment, important protests in our history such as the one on November 12/13, the tales of holocaust survivors, communist Russia, and an interview with our former president, Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom. The sampled portions of the audio content is not my making and all credit goes to their original creators. The audio will have more significance to Maldivians as a lot of the audio is in Dhivehi.
Observe.
Listen.
Contemplate.
Details
Concept, photography, editing, makeup direction, audio mixing: Hani Amir
White Makeup: Shafa’ath, Laisha, Ula Ahmed
Red Makeup: Ula Ahmed
The Mute: Aminath Navaal Hameed
The Blind: Maryam Afza Hassan
The Deaf Oppressor: Mohamed Hisham
---
This was my project for the Human Rights Multimedia Workshop organized by Transparency Maldives last December 2007. It was printed on canvas spanning about 7ft.