“Every Title”

‘Every Title’ is a short video made in response to what was at the time an overwhelming realisation for me, that every title that defined my identity was a ploy for power. I observed a series of politically powerful men, and how some rose to that power, what’s common being the use of labels and the idea of belonging to a group. Using myself as an example, I identify as a Bahraini woman, Bahraini being a nationalist title, one that encourages some sense of loyalty towards a nation. Loyalty requires some form of obedience which then relinquishes individual power. The statement in the video suggests that when others place us into a category, it is a means of control - a way to detangle or demystify us - once we are no longer “unknown” we become controllable. It features a woman who is in slow but constant movement. She veils the majority of her face, an act of resistance, in an attempt to remain unknown and uncategorised. The letters are missing their horizontal lines, signifying that without the labels that become part of our identity we can still remain valid, be seen and understood.