Title: Kh
Year: 2008
Duration: 10:15

Kh is an endurance-based video-performance that considers an Arabic letter with no English phonetic equivalent. To the Western ear, the foreign sound is often read as harsh, threatening, and 'barbaric'- which is why this letter is stereotypically used to mock male Arabs and their speech in Hollywood films and television series.

In contrast to media representations of this guttural letter, Kh is a private video performance framed as a self-examination. Mansour, an Arab female subject, repetitively pronounces this letter, thus authenticating her identity. 

Screened at

Eclectik
MAI Montreal Arts Interculturels
Montreal, Canada
2011

Using Format