Nocturnes, 1999, video, 12 min.

"Considering his young age, Sala belongs to the generation of young Albanian artists that received their education after the change of the system in Albania. Even though, he had already gone through the old regime experience for quite some years in his early youth. It is this fact of going through the real transition period and experiencing both situations from a different point of view that has given Anri Sala the opportunity to create his artistic position…" (Edi Muka) At Manifesta 3 Anri Sala presents his recent work, the short film Nocturnes. The film opens with a night-time scene: in a deserted street, a person is carrying a plastic bag containing an aquarium fish. But the content of the video film does not continue in the lyrical and dreamy mood that the title may suggest. There are two intertwining stories in the video film. The first story is told by a man who lives alone with about 2000 fish in aquariums, the way one takes care of them, protects them from intrudors. The second story is told by another young man, a former UN soldier. It reminds of some events of the Balkan war which have marked him for life and are shadowing him constantly. The story is a metaphor of the Balkan situation. This gives the film a dimension where "reflections on Life and Death dominate, and where human life's worth and devaluation are shown in a powerful manner that creates a permanent anxiety feeling at the viewer". (Edi Muka)