"History and culture are such linear things, hence this desire to mix things up. History can be so much what you make it.
"And, the best part is, for a film to be classified as a feature it has to be 65 minutes long, so it doesn't even make the grade there, either!"
The film is the focus of Shezad's new show Feature - Image, opening at Castlefield Gallery today. True enough, Feature messes around with the language, order and appearance of history, but you'll need to have your academic wits about you to pick through its humorous clash of styles, cultures and references.
Moreover, Feature takes an analytical look at film making itself, picking apart the processes and constructs of modern cinematography.
"For me, I see film as a complex way that you reflect the world.
"Over all these years of evolution, somehow we're developed this thing called film that has this mediating function, where it's not quite reality, it's our ideas and aspirations trying to impress themselves on reality.
Storytelling
"The amount of anthropological similarities you get between storytelling in cultures that are so far apart is striking, I'm moving towards a universalising function," smiles Shezad.
To accentuate the self-referential nature of Feature, the touring show reinvents itself at every gallery it visits.
For its Manchester residence, the show examines the images in the film and the concepts behind the story, as well as different creation techniques.
In Leeds, its focused on the semi-historical archaeology of the movie, and as it moves to Birmingham is will look at architecture.
Freeze-framed shots from the film reproduced in silk-screen, metallic prints and black and white enlarger prints highlight the processes of image and film making while a DVD of the open castings and objects from Feature provide clues for interpreting the hidden intercultural messages.
"There's all these layers but it's not so academic because I open it out and create that space to play," explains Shezad. "We all like to play."
Feature - Image is at Castlefield Gallery until Sunday, September 21 (Wed-Sun only, 1pm-6pm). Free.
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