Political Mutants is a video installation that draws on the visual language of comic books, B-movies, and science fiction. In comics and science fiction, a mutant is a human who acquires extraordinary powers or physical characteristics through mutation. A superpower or an unusual appearance transforms this person into a superhuman.

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Meir Tati’s video work depicts a series of mutants whose faces are assembled from fragments of political leaders, including Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and others. Their superpower is the authority granted to them by citizens, which turns them into “superhumans.” The mutants address the audience through re-edited monologues drawn from comic-book films, particularly moments when the antagonist explains the motives behind an attempt to destroy the world that the hero is expected to protect. The antagonist’s agenda often embodies values that Hollywood, or America, presents as threatening. Looking across the history of these films reveals how villains change in relation to the perceived enemies of the period: Russians, Arabs, Chinese people, and others, alongside ideologies and structures such as socialism, communism, financial and moral corruption, hypercapitalism, and dysfunctional corporate culture. Combining the faces of leaders with the words of fictional antagonists raises questions about the agendas of each: What is the hero or leader trying to protect? What is “democracy”? What is “the West”?

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Installation view at Beit Uri and Rami Nehoshtan Museum, Israel. Photography: Yotam From.

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The political mutant at the centre of the work addresses viewers through their collective fears. Constructing and deconstructing cinematic texts sheds light on how political ideologies enter the minds of viewers and citizens. The work continues Meir Tati’s practice of drawing on current political affairs, popular culture, science fiction, and comics, combining documentary material and fiction in installations that question our perception of reality and history.

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​Text by Smadar Keren, curator at Beit Uri and Rami Nehoshtan Museum.