The Myth of Layla
Performative Video Installation, 2015-2017
Franklin Furnace 2017 Recipient. Commissioned as a solo exhibition and series of performances at Mana Contemporary and NURTUREart in 2016, shown as part of ZAZ10TS, TMOL received a Rema Hort Mann Artist Community Engagement Grant, Creative Capital On Our Radar Award, and a Watermill Center and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace Residency. Partially funded through Kickstarter. Featured on VICE's The Creators Project. Exhibition text by Brooklyn Museum Curator Carmen Hermo available here.
The Myth of Layla is a SciFi allegory about political ideology, celebrity-obsessed media, and an Iranian-American activist named Layla based on Khoshbin's personal history. Set in a not-too-distant future, a big-brother media conglomerate called The Network runs the US government and is at war with fictionalized Middle Eastern country akin to Iran. The leader of The Network (The Host) is a reality show host who employs media-manipulation tactics such as fear of the Other, violence, and propaganda presented as reasonable safety-measures. The Host invites Layla and audience members to participate on their new reality show, Activists in Sexy Solidarity (ASS). Viewers become part of the piece, captured by running cameras and screened during the performance and installation. At Mana Contemporary, the piece was directed by Morgan Green, Dramaturgy by Yuliya Tsukerman, Performed by Amy Khoshbin, Maxwell Cosmo Cramer, Ryann Weir, Kenny Rivero, and Kristianne Molina, Cinematography by Jessica Gardner, Videography by Azikiwe Mohammed and Matthew Kohn, Lighting Design by Tuce Yasak, and Sound Design by Michael Clemow.
