Parwana Haydar Artwork
Bandestan is a video collage of an AI generated young Afghan girl dancing on rubble, to the traditional frame drum darya, in the changing background of empty opulent Kabul wedding halls. In the glittery, kitsch, hi-tech wedding halls of Kabul, Afghanistan exists an isolated form of liberation for the lucky few who are invited to wedding ceremonies under the current Taliban regime. Women wear their finest dresses in multiple colors of chiffon and twirl to the rhythm of cassettes and classical Afghan music. Afghan futurism may exist in this temporary space of dance and joy, whilst outside on Kabul’s streets remains a dystopia for many women who are forced to wear shapeless gowns and most recently are banned from Universities.
Update: today these wedding halls are mostly empty as restrictions on women are getting stricter and stricter.
Bandestan is a video collage of an AI generated young Afghan girl dancing on rubble, to the traditional frame drum darya, in the changing background of empty opulent Kabul wedding halls. In the glittery, kitsch, hi-tech wedding halls of Kabul, Afghanistan exists an isolated form of liberation for the lucky few who are invited to wedding ceremonies under the current Taliban regime. Women wear their finest dresses in multiple colors of chiffon and twirl to the rhythm of cassettes and classical Afghan music. Afghan futurism may exist in this temporary space of dance and joy, whilst outside on Kabul’s streets remains a dystopia for many women who are forced to wear shapeless gowns and most recently are banned from Universities.
Update: today these wedding halls are mostly empty as restrictions on women are getting stricter and stricter.