The Post-National Anthems
This performance and audio work is inspired by three national anthems. I chose anthems related to my own background, nationality and identity. However, I swapped the lyrics and music of each anthem: I placed the text of the American national anthem (The Star-Spangled Banner) on the melody of the Iraqi national anthem (Mawtini), and placed t he text of Mawtini onto the melodies of the Dutch national anthem Het Wilhelmus and The Star-Spangled Banner.
The work’s departure point is that Mawtini has been the (unofficial) anthem of Palestine since 1936 and that the US governor to Iraq, Paul Bremer, replaced the former Iraqi national anthem with Mawtini in 2004, during the American occupation of Iraq, making it the national anthem of two different countries at once.
See also: Delfina Foundation Video Portrait
Photo credit Tim Bowditch. Courtesy Delfina Foundation, 2018.
Photo credit Tim Bowditch. Courtesy Delfina Foundation, 2018.