In The Mad Man’s Laughter, Alaa Mansour questions the politics of the circulation of images to engage with the simulacra of the so-called ‘war on terror’ and the ubiquitous surveillance it has since spawned. Exploring the fictitious entities at play in the military-entertainment complex, the film embarks on a journey across artefacts and rules shaped by modalities of power and control. Operating with a form of speculative archaeology, Mansour brings together archival material from US military footage, found media, computer-generated imagery, sounds, and texts. Navigating violences both visible and latent, The Mad Man’s Laughter critiques colonial-militaristic image production and the data that feeds algorithmic biases. Commissioned and produced by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary for stage in collaboration with Ashkal Alwan.
Film / video · Film / video