Video

Tahoka

Kinga Araya

1999, 08:00 minutes, colour, English

TAPECODE 507.09

Tahoka presents not only an artistic homage to Native people's land, but it also problematizes contemporary nomadic journeys that have been shaping the Texan historical and geographical contexts. The lonely and exhausting walk with a heavy suitcase across the lake, visually complements contemporary promenades that move in and out of different languages, histories, countries and cultures.
Tahoka is a small city in Southwest Texas, a seat of Lynne County since 1903. It is named after the nearby Tahoka Lake, a natural spring-fed lake. The word "Tahoka" has an ambivalent double meaning in the Apache's native language. Its signification as a "fresh and clear water" and simultaneously "dried up water" offers a challenging understanding of history that cannot be recounted in a straightforward, linear fashion.
The symbolic language used in the video denoting journey, walking, luggage, rebirth as well as the presence of four elements: fire, water, earth and wind, elevate this video to an artistic phenomenon where meaningful and meaningless collapse.

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Critical Writing

Performance, Video, Texas and Beyond ...: Kinga Araya
by Ed Sinclair. Video Vogue, Winter 1999.