Catalogue > At random

Fascinated by mass psychology and indoctrination, Dutch artist Daya Cahen has been making work in Russia for years now. In 2006, she went looking for Stalin`s grandson in The Stalin that Was Played by Me, and in 2008 she got the rare opportunity to film in a summer camp of Putin`s youth movement for the film Nashi. This time around, Cahen goes to Cadet School Number 9, a unique military academy in Mosow, where girls age 11-17 learn how to become the ideal Russian patriot and the ideal Russian woman. She does not interview anyone, but tells the story by placing as many as six different images on the screen at the same time. We see girls doing their hair, cooking, ironing, marching and learning to use weapons. The footage reveals various aspects of their personalities while simultaneously posing the question of how all those aspects can be seen independently of one another. While they sing the praises of the great Russian nation, we cannot help but notice the contrast between military indoctrination and youthful innocence. Does patriotism require us to renounce any form of independent thought and action? Do these girls really know what they are doing, and is that even possible at their age?

Daya Cahen was born in Amsterdam (The Netherlands). She makes photographs, videos and video installations. She studied photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam (2002-2006) and was selected in 2009 as one of the 4 most promising recent graduates to have the opportunity to present her work at ?Rietveld Arsenale? that was held during the Venice Biennale. Cahen?s work revolves around propaganda, indoctrination and and the manipulative powers of the media. She investigates the representation of political icons, symbols of power and the role of the masses versus the individual. In her work she links the political with the everyday and personal, combines archive material with contemporary images and blurrs the border between fact and fiction. Her work was shown at the Moscow MoMa, The Hague Photomuseum (The Hague), De Appel Arts Centre (Amsterdam), Wiels Contemporary Art Centre (Brussels), Platform Garanti (Istanbul), Institut Néerlandais (Paris), Rencontres Internationales (2006/2008), Short Film Festival Oberhausen (2006/2008) and was nominated for a Golden Bear (short film) at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2007.