Binha Haase

Binha Haase
BiographyARTIST SONIC MATTER_VIDEO LOUNGE

My artistic work includes video, film, installation and music performance. As a classically trained musician, sound but also compositions in music play an important role for me. I do not only consider them as means of expression or an artistic medium, but I am also interested in their socio-political context. In my video "en travesti" I deal with the practice of cross-gender instrumentation, which has been common in opera history for centuries. In my film "ritornel" I tell the story of a North Korean violinist during his study visit in Berlin. My music performance "conductress" focuses on the experiences of female musicians* in top positions of the classical music scene and in the video for the Beethoven performance "All senses for the Seventh" I examine the political level of Beethoven's 7th symphony. Beethoven's masterpiece, according to my music-theoretical and -historically based thesis, deals with the wars of liberation from Napoleonic rule and critically reflects the role of those in power from the perspective of the European Enlightenment. With regard to sound, the human voice plays an essential role for me, and I use it in such a way that it has an effect on the tonal level as well as revealing its symbolic meaning. In the video "popfem" the voices of right-wing extremist actors are manipulated in the montage in such a way that they recite feminist content. In "conductress" it is the musicians' own voices that tell of their experiences in an often male-dominated professional life. In the video and sound collage "en travesti" I also take up the medium of the voice by cutting up five historically frequently counter-sexed arias into a figure that oscillates between the gender roles. In terms of content, I often negotiate queer-feminist themes such as in "#popfem", "conductress" or "en travesti".

In my work I would like to bring current social issues into the public eye. Therefore, I always look for a formal language that is individually tailored to the topics, which is both aesthetically stimulating and insightful. I repeatedly confront myself and my works with foreign, sometimes contradictory perspectives in order to approach complex topics. My work is based on extensive research and many interviews, which is reflected in the often documentary character of my works. Among them are cinematic works like "conductress", "popfem", "ritornel" or my stop-motion/documentary "at night the rats do sleep".

ABOUT THE WORK
#popfem (2016)
Eine Videoarbeit von Sara Glojnarić & Binha Haase #popfem befasst sich mit rechtsradikalen, misogynen und antifeministischen Bewegungen auf YouTube und transformiert deren Aussagen in ihr Gegenteil. Grundlage sind die Videos dieser Bewegungen, welche bestimmt sind von Frauenhass und antifeministischer Hetze als ein Resultat von Fehlinformationen/grundlegendem Missverständnis und einer allgemeinen, unreflektierten Phobie. Dieses Videomaterial haben wir in der Montage so manipuliert, dass die Vertreter*innen dieser Bewegungen letztlich eine Auswahl feministisch gesinnter Texte zu unserer Meinung nach aktuellen und relevanten Themen für (westliche) Frauen unserer Zeit zitieren (Recht auf Abtreibung, "rape culture" und internalisierter Sexismus). Dabei gehen wir methodisch wie unsere Protagonist*innen vor - es wird Fremdmaterial aus seinem ursprünglichen Kontext gelöst und so neu zusammen gesetzt und präsentiert, dass es die eigene Ideologie bestätigt.
Link
  1. Website Binha Haase
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