In February 2014, the Egyptian military presented a new series of biomedical devices claiming to be able to diagnose and cure HIV and Hepatitis C. At the press conference, held in this volatile period, after the 2011 revolution and between the 2013 military coup d'état and the upcoming elections, the army general and herbalist Ibrahim Abdel Ati stated that the machine will "make kofta [meatballs] out of the virus."
The episode stands as a tragically absurdist case of a scientific scam elevated to the level of statecraft. Here, the relation between reason, authority and aesthetics diffract through a black-box prism, emitting beams of illumination and occlusion in a parodical rhythm. What is science and biomedicine at the onset of a planetary fever? How did it get this far?
The multimedia performance "Kofta Machine", by Mandus Ridefelt and Simiyya presents this story from the viewpoint of the machine itself. Artist Inger Sif Heeschen has produced a ceramic interpretation of the Kofta Machine based on its patent drawings.
The performance and screening took place at Overgaden 12th December upon the invitation Madeleine Andersson
Research: Simiyya (Assem Hendawi, Mandus Ridefelt, Mostafa El Baroody)
Ceramics: Inger Sif Heeschen
CGI-animation: Mostafa ElBaroody
Costume: Ba Bladh
Music: Stephen McEvoy
