In transit

Overview

Lida Abdul’s video work 'In Transit' features school children filling a military airplane with cotton, attaching ropes, and attempting to fly the airplane like a kite. In Abdul’s words: 'It’s really a playful piece, a fantasy piece, with a group of kids who are playing with a very old Russian plane, that was left over years ago. I was really struck by this piece because it looks between a plane and a bird. It’s like a skeleton almost…' The harsh reality of the destruction of war is counterpointed by the hope in the future represented by the children – the most innocent creatures. 'I want to bring out the beauty of the tragic way in which children face violent scenarios and show how they can be flexible in similar conditions with their innocence, by creating an antidote to the tragedy of their condition. Without children playing and running through the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan today would be even more violent than it is.'