pepsi, cola, water?

"pepsi, cola, water?” is a short experimental documentary about Sun Ra’s legendary visit to Egypt in 1971. Jazz pioneer and philosopher Sun Ra had a deep fascination with outer space and ancient Egypt. Computer animation, archival footage, and music from Sun Ra are interwoven to create a recreation/celebration of his legendary visit to Egypt in 1971. The result is a film as far out as Sun Ra himself.

Tom Bogaert came to art over a decade ago after practicing refugee law. His artistic practice is organized through long-term research projects that often examine the intersection of humanism and human rights, politics and entertainment, and art and propaganda. Bogaert moved to Amman, Jordan in 2009 and has since produced a series of works under a project called “Impression, proche orient,” which draws from his experience as a foreigner living and working in the Arab World and uses irony and criticism to interrogate the layers of his own understanding of contemporary issues throughout the region.

“pepsi, cola, water?” was made in collaboration with Medrar for Contemporary Art in Cairo, Egypt and SoundImageCulture, the Flanders Audiovisual Fund and Didier Volckaert in Brussels, Belgium.