Perverse Korda discovers the limits of Amsterdam

ROB ROMBOUTS

AMSTERDAM - The man who wants to show a video clip in Paradiso on Wednesday in which images of the attacks on the WTC towers in New York are mixed with spraying phalluses and sports flashes, thinks the Netherlands is a strange country. "Holland continues to amaze me. Wasn't it the country where everything was allowed? The discussion about my performance is unusual," says Chris Korda.

The public prosecutor is considering banning the performance of the American founder and pastor of The Church of Euthanasia. Paradiso is not putting a straw in the artist's way.

Korda does wonder if it is safe for him to perform in Amsterdam. "I will definitely ask for protection. I want someone on stage with me. During a performance in Hamburg, a liberal place, I got alcohol thrown in my eyes. That's why I didn't see who was attacking me."

Where does that aggression and lack of understanding come from when watching his video clip I Like to Watch? "People are upset. It's hard to realize that you're actually a collaborator. Many people wished the United States would be attacked. Now the boot is on the other foot. Justice. The chickens came home to roost. Why do you think disaster movies are so popular?"

According to Korda, there is a lot of resistance to the globalization of industrial society. "Despite the material wealth, many people in this society lose their way and are maimed."

Osama Bin Laden made, according to Korda, "the most powerful work of art ever." He made the most of mass media and the tendency toward voyeurism. "We saw the most successful, most accurate media film ever made."

The sexual dimension of the attacks is very clear to Korda. "The WTC towers were symbols of dominance and perfection. The towers, the phalluses, were penetrated. It was a shock to America. Now we were on the receiving end."

When Korda first saw the footage of the planes hitting, he was overcome with a sense of satisfaction. "Why aren't you recording this?" I shouted at the person I was watching with."

Korda and his clip were rejected at the Lowlands festival by head programmer Erik van Eerdenburg. He did not find the material artistically interesting enough. "When I saw the images, all I thought was 'damn it'. Jerking off while the WTC towers are collapsing. It's just kicking where it hurts and then only for the sake of kicking."

Korda, who attended an art academy and composes electronic music, is also the founder of The Church of Euthanasia. They had a church building in Boston, but it was "taken away" from them by the municipality. The three hundred members of the church - publicist Karin Spaink is the only Dutch member - must declare as the only admission requirement that they do not want children. "If you change your mind, you're out."

Suicide and abortion are "optional," as is cannibalism. "If you must eat meat, eat human flesh. Sodomy and anal sex are encouraged. Sex is only good for pleasure and should not have the goal of having children."

The church strives to reduce the human population and gives tips for suicide. It is not for nothing that the church motto is: Save the planet and kill yourself (also available as a bumper sticker).

The conventional churches are pro-life, says Korda. "They pretend that life has a purpose. That you go to heaven. But people are anti-life. They destroy all kinds of life on this planet. Whales have almost been exterminated for lamp oil. There are monuments for Auschwitz, but not for the whales."

Humans are dumb apes. Heaven does not exist and hell is here, says Korda. There is no point in believing in an afterlife or a future in space, as scientists do. "The only purpose of life is to live. In that respect, The Church of Euthanasia is close to paganism and earth worship."

Korda can make a living from his music and performances, but it's not a goldmine. The pastor is not supported by his disciples. "You can get a certificate for your wall for ten dollars. Then you are officially a member. If you don't, that's fine too."

Korda is "late 30s" and transgender. Physically he is a man, but when he feels like it he looks like a woman. "It just depends. Right now I look like a man, but later tonight I think I'll be a bit more feminine. I like that role reversal."

© Het Parool, 11-11-2002

The preceding is a translation. The original language is here.