Sweat
How to compare politicians without taking their political agenda into account? Through the body language, common feelings recur. In this selection of images, politicians wipe the sweat off their foreheads, so that they appear stressed or desperate. However, they could just be sweating because of the heat. Due to the succession of images, a visual interaction creates an additional value to the series, in which an overall mood of desperation emerges.
Closed Eyes
This is an experiment about body language, though movement is irrelevant. The focus lies on the philosophical aspect that appears when powerful people close their eyes. It deliberately shows statesmen and women from powerful countries or authoritarian and repressive democracies.
Quotes
Quotes from Israel’s political opponents like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Hassan Rouhani appear like subtitles under the image of Benjamin Netanyahu. Depending on who makes these declarations, the message takes a different connotation. Statements that were meant to be threatening are now perceived as apprehensive. A semantic shift occurs. The viewer does not capture this immediately and his/her expectations towards the speaker are challenged.