What is in a name? What is the legacy of the moorkop, a chocolate-glazed choux pastry whose name is a racial slur? Drawing attention to the construction and persistence of societal and ethnic divisions (hidden in names and elsewhere), Cihad Caner brings to life a ghostly apparition of the Dutch dessert, who recites lines from Shakespeare’s Othello in old Dutch. The pastry’s name was first deployed in the Middle Ages to name indigenous Amazigh and now designates people of North African descent as Europe’s “Other”. The pastry protagonist speaks and sings about stereotypes while reflecting on debates in Dutch media about its own name change to chocoladebal. The video challenges and calls on viewers to think about the prejudices of representation and the meaning of a name.

This project was made possible with the support of CBK Rotterdam, PTGui and Mondriaan Fonds.

Cihad Caner is an artist living and working in Rotterdam and Istanbul, whose practice explores the politics of the image through the mediums of video, photography, music, motion capture, and CGI.

Credits Mocap artist: Mahfoud Mokaddem Animation: Cihad Caner 3D Model artists: Kenn Edwards, Berker Yanyalı Rig artist: DeShawn Bellfield Concept artist: Ebuzer Caner Flute: Moisés Toscano Fuentes Sound design: Saka music Music: Maalem Mahmoud Gania- Bala Matinba