A solo exhibition by Janis Rafa.
Rafa is known for her work that challenges our view on animals in a broad sense. Currently, the EYE film museum is exhibiting her work, including many new pieces. A part of her work deals with pets and our perspective on owning them. Whereas the word owning is already food for thought (in what sense can we own an animal?) – Rafa takes this idea one step further and discusses the communication of humans and pets and raises the question of consent. Can animals give consent, and if yes, how do we reach this consent? If we give a dog a treat and in return, it lets us pet him, aren’t we just bribing – or are we humanizing the dog? The neon signs in the exhibition offer provocative text that deal with our strange relation to the animal world.
The most prominent are the video works. Rafa shows us animals that are left alone. In a car, in a home, on the street. From a distance, we watch a staged road accident, a dog panting in the car or a horse in the field. This is just a fracture of the ideas that Rafa conveys through her videos and installations. I recommend taking a look for yourself, the exhibition is on display until the 7th of January and is combined with a film program that Rafa curated.
In September 2020, I interviewed filmmaker Janis Rafa about her debut film Kala Azar, that was screening in the Dutch cinemas at the time. This is the link to the interview with Janis Rafa: https://lariot.nl/2020/09/29/interview-with-janis-rafailidou-director-of-kala-azar/
This is the link to the exhibition: https://www.eyefilm.nl/en/programme/janis-rafa/1045238
Films, talks & events: https://www.eyefilm.nl/en/programme/janis-rafa/1045238
Kala azar can be watched for free via eyefilm.nl.
Written by Luca Deutinger
Cover picture: Janis Rafa, The Space Between Your Tongue and Teeth, 2023. Film still, three-channel video with sound, 9 min.
Courtesy the Artist; © Janis Rafa
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