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Larissa Sansour

In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain

Larissa Sansour

In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain

Larissa Sansour, In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain (2015) Film still

Larissa Sansour

Information

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In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain (2015) resides in the cross-section between science-fiction, archaeology and global politics. Combining live action, computer generated imagery and historical photographs the film explores the role of myth in history, fact and national identity.

At its core the film describes a narrative resistance group that makes underground deposits of elaborate porcelain, decorated with the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh pattern and suggested to belong to an entirely fictional civilisation. Their aim is to influence history and support future claims to their vanishing territories. Once unearthed, this tableware will prove the existence of this counterfeit people. By implementing a myth of its own, their work becomes a historical intervention – de facto creating a nation.

The film takes the form of a fictional video essay. A voice-over based on a dialogue between the protagonist, an archaeologist, and an unidentified interviewer reveals the philosophy and ideas behind the group’s actions. The leader’s thoughts on myth and fiction as constitutive for fact, history and documentary accompanied by the poetic science fiction-based visuals.

In the Future, They Ate from the Finest Porcelain was screened as part of the official programmes at Dubai In International Film Festival 2015, Berlin International Film Festival 2016, London International Film Festival 2016 amongst many others. The film won Best International Experimental Short Film, Guanajuato, Mexico, and MADATAC First Prize, Madrid, Spain.

Larissa Sansour

Larissa Sansour was born 1973 in East Jerusalem. She received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MA in fine art from New York University. She was also a visiting student at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Sansour lives and works in London. Sansour takes an interdisciplinary approach to art, working in video, photography, installation and sculpture to create overtly political works that explore and approximate the Palestinian experience. References and details within the work borrow heavily from genre film and pop culture in combination with global politics and social issues to create intricate parallel worlds in which new value systems can be decoded.

Recent solo exhibitions including venues such as: Dar El-Nimr, Beirut, Chapter Art Gallery, Cardiff; Nikolaj Kunsthal, Copenhagen; The Bluecoat Liverpool; Mosaic Rooms, London; New Art Exchange in Nottingham; Turku Art Museum in Finland; Wolverhampton Art Gallery; Kulturhuset, Stockholm; Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai; Sabrina Amrani, Madrid and DEPO in Istanbul. Her work has also featured in the biennials of Istanbul, Busan and Liverpool amongst others.

Sansour is to represent Denmark in the Danish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2019.

Søren Lind

Søren Lind is a Danish author. He writes children’s books and literary fiction. With a background in philosophy, Lind has written books on mind, language and understanding before turning to fiction. He has published a novel, collections of short stories and children’s books. In addition to his literary production, Lind is also a visual artist and writes short film scripts.

Watch a trailer

In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain was co-commissioned by FLAMIN Productions through Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network with funding from Arts Council England; New Art Exchange, Nottingham; Bluecoat, Liverpool; Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton; and The Mosaic Rooms, A.M.Qattan Foundation, London; with support from Doha Film Institute; The Danish Arts Council, Arts Council England, Iambic Film, Knud Højgaards Fond and Contemporary Art Platform – Kuwait. Produced by Spike Film and Video.