THE BROTHERHOOD
2015-2016
The Brotherhood, 2015. multi-channel video installation, painted frames, LED screens, video loops.
Installation view at Postmasters Gallery, New York. 2015.
THE BROTHERHOOD
“There's something missing in all writings about power: Very few are able to capture how funny it is. When they examine the horrors that power commits, the sufferings it imposes, the blood with which it stains itself, historians and political scientists always forget to highlight the ridiculous aspects of the inevitable monster and how funny they are, with their ironed uniformed, unearned medals and invented awards.”
- Oriana Fallaci,
"Interviews with History and Conversations with Power"
In his new video portrait series entitled, The Brotherhood, Solmi parodies the iconography of historical portraiture, creating his own absurd portraits of our most feared and beloved historic leaders. These mythical leaders are presented as members of The Brotherhood, an organization that has the goals to keep chaos in the world and promote the degeneration of the human race. Solmi portrays history as propaganda— fabricated, manipulated, and carefully crafted by leaders and governments in order to suit their needs. Solmi addresses how our knowledge of the past is always skewed, incomplete, and irresolute. Solmi challenges us to question our beliefs towards history and claims that through our own patriotic or religious partisanship, we may be perpetuating these myths ourselves.