This two-channel video, 31 minutes in duration, marks the culmination of an extensive project worked on during my year-long residency at Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. It addresses and comments on a broad range of matters – the accessibility of historical accounts (the submergence of information pertaining to society, politics and history), geopolitics past and present, power relations in late 19th-century Europe, the social class system in Britain, news communication and media saturation around the world. By turns satirical, theatrical and blackly humorous, the video scratches beneath the surface of a historical episode little known to the general public – the British occupation of Port Hamilton, a tiny group of islets off the coast of Korea. In view of the fact that history is ‘available’ only if read, spoken and heard, I took it upon myself to bring the issue to people’s attention.I drew on a wide variety of authentic documents to create the script. They included confidential diplomatic telegrams sent between British ministers in the Foreign Office and naval officers in Port Hamilton, history books past and present and over 300 articles from British newspapers published at that time. Most of the script is made up of actual quotes from the above-mentioned sources and a substantial portion was colloquialised and rearranged to produce a text collage.Towards the end of the imperialist era of the 19th century steamers were the most developed means of transport for both the navy and the merchant marine. As the new century approached the world was slowly changing and the steamships of other European powers were beginning to threaten British naval supremacy. As the video begins, Britain and Russia have recently fought a battle in the Afghan town of Penjdeh, a battle that Britain has lost, and Russia are now looking for a chance to proceed further south to India, Britain’s most important colony. This incident spurred Britain to try to prevent possible Russian dominance on the other side of the globe in the Pacific Ocean. The British Government ordered an admiral to occupy Port Hamilton, a group of tiny islets off the Korean coast, and barricade Russian vessels in that area. Gradually the ripples of political tension spread to all countries of Europe. Russia was outraged and European nations began aligning and preparing to defend themselves in case an Anglo-Russian war should break out. All the while the Royal Navy in Port Hamilton was leading a deathly boring existence in quasi-exile, a boredom broken only by the occasional fatal accidents that befell its marines. Yet despite the rumours and preparations for war no actual clashes occurred. With the occupation becoming a hindrance at diplomatic level, the British Government eventually took the decision to evacuate the port but only after spending an enormous amount of money garrisoning it.The video’s black humour amplifies the contradiction and absurdity of political decisions and history. Although it is set in the 19th century, the issues and geopolitics resonate with present-day situations, enabling viewers to adopt a stance of critical detachment from the present. As a historical reinterpretation of power relations, the video is also critical of the news media. By looking at modes of news dissemination during that era, the work demonstrates how news had a butterfly effect, with one trivial event causing a disproportionate stir across a wide area.

 

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