Copy & Paste; March Madness, 2021, 2021

“Copy & Paste: March Madness”, opens with a sunrise on what at first appears to be a day like any other. Soldiers ready themselves for a ceremonial march but they are not quite how one would expect. Figures in pristine uniforms performing perfectly synchronised movements are transformed into iconic and somewhat unsettling figures recognisable as well-known American cartoon characters.

Rezaei is making a playful critique of modern-day opposing world super-powers and referencing the 19th and early 20th century ‘Great Game’ between the British and the Russian empires who sought to control Afghanistan and its neighbouring territories. Both current and historical conflicts underline the fact that the game can never really be won, it merely continues with shifting protagonists and unstable outcomes. Rezaei is here clearly referring to the USA and China, two opposing super-powers who despite all of their posturing rely on each other for their own financial, political and military success. This is a critique of the West’s dependence on China for the production of everyday goods and in turn the pervasiveness of American culture that is influencing younger generation of Chinese consumers.