Haroon Mirza

An experiment in collective ownership of intellectual property.

Using sci-fi to navigate a new global order, Mirza in his ‘modular opera’ focuses on two central narrative elements: a pandemic causing a state of lockdown in major cities globally and a shaman reconnecting with natural forces and ancient practices.

This four-channel video installation addresses the current global political climate and the seismic events that have occurred internationally over the course of the past fifteen years—from the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, in New York, to the US presidential election on November 9, 2016. Footage included is a mixture of that found online or shot by the artist on his iPhone.

A man is depicted at rest; one can hear the artist giving him instructions—when given the prompt, he is told to open his eyes and speak the word ‘belief’ in three languages: Arabic, English and Hebrew. Each one is subtitled with one of the other languages. The soundtrack for the work features two very specific frequencies of sound: 42.7hz, a triangular wave, and 936hz, a sine wave. These frequencies are said to stimulate the pineal gland, where melatonin is produced.