PERFECTION

PERFECTION

2022

6-channel video and multimedia installation.

When fame morphs to celebrity, and then from celebrity to brand, authenticity and money collide.

Amid allegations of corruption and bribery, and despite well-documented human rights abuses,  FIFA, the international governing body of football,  awarded hosting rights to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.

In 2021, former soccer star, David Beckham, signed a 10-year deal worth $277 million to be the global ambassador for Qatar.

PERFECTION frays the marketing story that has been woven to capitalise on the attention drawn to the Arab nation during the FIFA World Cup 2022.

The slick advertising campaign featuring David Beckham, promotes Qatar as a progressive country, where women in particular play a lead role.

The campaign is at odds with Qatar’s reality, where oppressive and opaque guardianship laws govern the lives of women. Where the LGBTQIA+ community is subject to criminal punishment of imprisonment and, in some cases, the death penalty. It also ignores the plight of migrant workers, who toil in the equivalent of modern slavery conditions, and who have died in their thousands to construct the stadiums and infrastructure required for Qatar to host the FIFA World Cup.

By taking on the ambassador role, Beckham has ignored the inconsistencies between his own brand image and the realities of life in Qatar. But, then, hypocrisy seems to be a consistent feature of  the Beckham brand.

PERFECTION splices ‘David Beckham’s Qatar Stopover’ with the soccer legend’s social media posts, media clips and articles, advertisements, and human rights information.

PERFECTION has been designed so it cannot all be taken in at once. Watching the action on one screen means potentially missing what is occurring on another. This is how it felt researching for the artwork. Following one lead might reveal more, but may also lead you away from another. PERFECTION was only ever going to scratch the surface.

Photography by Emma Byrnes

www.emmabyrnes.com