The entirely self-filmed, long-term project Play by Rules explores how international media and individuals produce images and how the process of image-making influences the dynamics of protests and states of emergency. The work examines the different purposes of image production and the attention it generates by capturing how journalists and independent filmers frame and stage protest gestures in various cultural contexts. It also investigates how this shaping of imagery affects communication among participants in these situations.

The project simultaneously highlights the self-staging and dramatization of protestors, the presence or absence of journalists and filmmakers, and their ability to navigate crowds or police lines.

The five-channel video installation presents these dynamics through footage from various historical moments, including:

-The protesting refugees at Keleti train station in Budapest (2015)

-The protests and celebrations following the failed coup in Istanbul, Taksim Square (2016)

-The protests and riots during the G20 summit in Hamburg (2017)

-The pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong (2019)

-The anti-CAA protests in Kolkata, India (2020)

-The anti-war protests for Ukraine in Paris (2022)

-Demonstrations for and against Russia on Victory Day (WWII commemoration) in Berlin (2022)

-Anti-nuclear weapon protests in Hiroshima (2022)

-The environmental protests in Lützerath (2023), among others.

The installation reconstructs journalistic techniques but replaces traditional recording devices with projection tools: beamers on tripods stand in place of cameras, and projection screens replace lights.

Created in collaboration with Timo Herbst