Video (1)
Image (6)
Why are you taking my picture
Format: GoPro Video
Why are you taking my picture (Against the stream)
April 5, 2018
Performance 108 min.
Held at the Great Buddha Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal
Performance and GoPro shooting: Albena Mihaylova
Additional HDV camera: Ranhard Manz
Video 9 min
The Great Buddha Stupa Gold Temple in Kathmandu is 100 feet in diameter, 141 feet in height, and is located in approx. 1 ha. Worshipers, monks, tourists from all over Asia and the world come here to perform the ritual - repeatedly going around the temple clockwise. The tours must be 108 in number. In the normal course of the temple, it goes around for 4-5 minutes, which makes 500-540 minutes, or 8-9 hours - a grueling time for meditation, leading to extreme exhaustion. Initially, in the pre-Buddhist religion of Bon, the tours were made in the opposite direction - from right to left. In Buddhism, the number 108 is symbolic. So are the beads of the prayer rosary. One mantra is repeated 108 times. 108 lines form the heart chakra.
The idea of my performance was to go around the temple in the opposite direction of the pilgrims' movement with a camera in my hand, directed at my face or against those coming towards me. I cut into groups of people, split them up, their movement flowing around me like a wide stream of water left and right. I was walking against the stream. It was a strong provocation to the moving, many of them turning confused or indignant. The video of the camera aimed at my face shows their reactions as if in a rearview mirror. During one of the consecutive tours an adult tourist could not stand and voiced his resentment: " Why are you taking my picture ?!" I walked for 108 min.
April 5, 2018
Performance 108 min.
Held at the Great Buddha Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal
Performance and GoPro shooting: Albena Mihaylova
Additional HDV camera: Ranhard Manz
Video 9 min
The Great Buddha Stupa Gold Temple in Kathmandu is 100 feet in diameter, 141 feet in height, and is located in approx. 1 ha. Worshipers, monks, tourists from all over Asia and the world come here to perform the ritual - repeatedly going around the temple clockwise. The tours must be 108 in number. In the normal course of the temple, it goes around for 4-5 minutes, which makes 500-540 minutes, or 8-9 hours - a grueling time for meditation, leading to extreme exhaustion. Initially, in the pre-Buddhist religion of Bon, the tours were made in the opposite direction - from right to left. In Buddhism, the number 108 is symbolic. So are the beads of the prayer rosary. One mantra is repeated 108 times. 108 lines form the heart chakra.
The idea of my performance was to go around the temple in the opposite direction of the pilgrims' movement with a camera in my hand, directed at my face or against those coming towards me. I cut into groups of people, split them up, their movement flowing around me like a wide stream of water left and right. I was walking against the stream. It was a strong provocation to the moving, many of them turning confused or indignant. The video of the camera aimed at my face shows their reactions as if in a rearview mirror. During one of the consecutive tours an adult tourist could not stand and voiced his resentment: " Why are you taking my picture ?!" I walked for 108 min.
Katmandu, Nepal, 2018
Tags
Queries
Albena Mihaylova catalog - mediathek catalog - network catalog - Artists catalog - PANCH catalog - HGKplus
Full spec
- DateAdded
- 2020-04-24T12:20:11Z
- DateModified
- 2020-05-06T09:35:12Z
- Key
- JJBWK5Q8
- Language
- Englisch
- Rights
- Albena Mihaylova
- RunningTime
- 00:09:00
- Studio
- Basel