Ten Minutes of the Canebrake

ELSE | SOUNDSABOUT

TW: GUNSHOT SOUNDS AND MENTIONS OF MASSACRE
The multi-channel sound installation is a recreation of the “Mahshahr Massacre” and is dedicated to the people of Mahshahr in Iran who lost their lives, friends, and families. The multi-channel installation remakes the atmosphere of the incident with a soundscape of wind, protestors’ voices, and gunshots, meaning to convey a glimpse of
what essentially took place in 2019. The sounds used in the work are partially extracted
from the videos leaked from the incident and then edited/upscaled to the point of
distortion and even falsification. The installation also challenges the methods and
processes related to the documentation/recreation of actual events and reflects on how
authoritative regimes exploit narratives to their advantage.
Mid-November 2019, Iran.
The Iranian government raised the gas price up to 300% overnight without prior notice.
In one day, protests erupted in almost every city around the country. Amid the protests,
the internet went down throughout the whole country. In total darkness, the IRGC
(Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used unprecedented violence against people, and
in one week, more than 1500 people were reportedly shot dead.
As protests raged, people in the city of Mahshar, in Khuzestan, one of Iran’s
resource-rich yet poor provinces, people who had suffered extreme injustice over 40
years of dictatorship under the Islamic regime took control of their city. After three days,
the military forces arrived, forcing people to flee to the canebrake area of the city. As
violence escalated, the Revolutionary Guards used armored vehicles and tanks to circle
and shoot the demonstrators directly. There were initial reports that 40 to 150 people
had been murdered in Mahshahr, primarily in Canebrake.
Else would like to remain anonymous.
During the month of November, SoundsAbout presents installations, performances, and a listening session, wandering through (un)told stories, memories, and the patterns that underlie human/non-human behaviour.
Here, we traverse the network that connects all beings. The awareness of our bodily presence in the natural world, and examining the complex relationships with our surroundings.
https://about.sounds.berlin/past-projects/resonature/