Sara Sadik
Khtobtogone
Single-channel video (colour, sound), 16:09
A love story set in the video game Grand Theft Auto V (GTA), Khtobtogone explores masculinity in Maghrebi Marseille. Khtobtogone begins as a love story between protagonist Zine and the girl of his dreams, Bulma. Zine reflects more broadly on masculinity and coming of age in Marseille’s Maghrebi community through an introspective narration. Inspired by the experiences of her male friends from southern France, Sadik collaged transcripts of their stories into Zine’s internal monologue. Sadik complements Zine’s poetic voiceover with custom modifications of GTA’s graphics, which add specific cultural references and deepen his interior world. In these striking scenes, Sadik coaxes a refreshing vulnerability from a game designed to highlight idealised, heteronormative masculinity.
Sara Sadik creates spaces for ephemeral emotional expressions in videos, installations, and fictional interventions in ordinary situations in order to consider their broader social and cultural significance. In her works, Sadik repurposes public domains as spaces for exhibition and self-reflection. Taking cues from pop culture and science fiction, she creates scenarios for youth peer groups, especially young men, to explore their inner emotional lives without judgment or mediation. Sadik often recruits teenagers from local communities as collaborators on her works. Together, they manifest the diverse bonds and codes that exist between outsiders who, while encountering some peers, recognise kindred spirits and develop new definitions of belonging.