Imran Perretta: tears of the fatherland – A Powerful Sound and Video Installation Exhibition

This exhibition features Imran Perretta's latest sound and video installation, 'the destructors,' alongside a newly commissioned sound installation. Drawing parallels between the Thirty Years' War and contemporary conflicts, the work delves into personal and collective experiences of marginalization and alienation, particularly for young people with Muslim heritage in Western countries.

Imran Perretta's exhibition, 'tears of the fatherland,' showcases his transdisciplinary practice combining moving images, sound, composition, performance, and poetry. The exhibition critically examines issues of power, state surveillance, alterity, neocolonialism, and the identity formation of young people with Muslim heritage in Western countries, informed by his own experiences as a British individual with Muslim roots. The core of the exhibition includes the sound and video installation 'the destructors' (2019) and a new, site-specific sound installation. The title is inspired by a poem from 1636, highlighting Perretta's view of parallels between the Thirty Years' War and the modern "war on terror." 'the destructors' investigates personal and collective experiences of marginalization and alienation through workshops with youth discussing their experiences of living in a society perceived as a threat. The artist's poems, spoken by professional actors in the film, delve into personal narratives. The film, set in a community center in Tower Hamlets, London, focuses on four young South Asian men of Muslim background. Projected on two screens, the work uses visual elements like fog and flooding to enhance the mood, while the protagonists' monologues shift between anger, grief, and resignation, offering a space for resistance and challenging prejudice. Additionally, the exhibition features 'trying to disappear,' stemming from a poem of the same title. This work, presented without moving images, uses a complex 5.1 surround sound composition to explore the military-entertainment complex, its "frequency politics," and the cinematic construction of conflict. It serves as an epilogue to 'the destructors,' further investigating the impact of fear, alienation, and state violence on marginalized groups, particularly in relation to the "frequency politics" and cinematic construction of conflict.

Tickets are available and visitors are directed to an external ticketing platform. General opening hours are Tuesday-Sunday, 10 AM - 6 PM, with the museum being open today. Secession is located at Friedrichstraße 12, 1010 Vienna, and contact information is provided for inquiries.