Single-channel video installation with audio intervention

Grammar of Calculated Ambiguity features two forensic phoneticians in a futuristic sound laboratory. After the initial phonetic clean-up of a noisy recording, journalists and scientists arrive on the scene, including renowned business lawyer Katharina Pistor. Together, they begin to analyse the content of the reconstructed recording. It turns out that the recordings are talks given by players from the financial services industry on how to improve the reputation of their profession.

Gabriela Löffel recorded the talks at an offshore financial conference following the leak of the Pandora Papers. These revelations exposed a global shadow financial system that serves the wealthy and politicians in tax avoidance. The 11.9 million documents of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) show how offshore service providers conceal assets and facilitate tax evasion, undermining the rule of law.

The conference was aimed at industry insiders such as trustees, lawyers, and asset managers – the “architects” of the offshore structures that also appear in the Pandora Papers. Filtering out what was actually said from the noisy raw material of the recording turns out to be a laborious process. It is not unlike the challenges faced by the ICIJ in their work: Despite recurring revelations like the Pandora Papers, the scandals of the financial industry often cause short-lived outrage, only to fade away unheard.

The experts expose the technical jargon both phonetically and contextually to show how language is used to bypass and manipulate laws. In this process, reflections on capitalism, tax evasion, and democracy unfold. This critical engagement with a reality full of interference is mirrored in the composition of sound artist Olga Kokcharova: Her sounds interact with the video, emphasizing the modifiable, porous forms in the installation.

• Sektion Section: Exhibition
• Programm Programme: Witnessing Witnessing