The Sudanese Twins

I just love documentaries! So when I accidentally switched to a tv channel showing The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins, I was glued to the tv - my favourites being, of course, documentaries about adoption.

If there is one documentary you're going to watch this year, you should make it this one. It's an absolutely appalling story actually and it's just so shocking that someone thinks like this lady, artist Vanessa Beecroft.

Vanessa Beecroft travels to Sudan to pursue her art project. In my opinion she exploits the people of Sudan for her artistic ambitions breaking their moral rules for the sake of art. As if by accident she finds these beautiful Sudanese twins who she helps gain their stregth by breastfeeding them. She goes on to use the babies for her art, upsetting the children's community. In the process she decides that she wants to adopt them, to save the babies. The babies have a father and a very tight-knit community to take care of them who aren't open to sending the children overseas, so it' s difficult to see what she thinks she's saving them from.

What's funny is that she fails to mention this adoption project of hers to her husband who is back in the States! He only hears of it through their lawyer, accidentally and the project has been going on for quite some time at that point. Thankfully there is no real adoption law in Sudan so the process turns out to be very difficult AND her husband is able to think more clearly and is against the adoption.

Vanessa Beecroft is obsessed with adopting the babies but at the same time wonders if she really wants to adopt them!! It's like watching a kid in a candy store - it's just an obsession to get these babies, she never really goes over the outcome and how she'll adjust her life to the needs of the babies. Also she's fixated with the twin's skin color, as far as saying that it would be a statement to adopt them. Argh!!

The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins is an extremely provocative documentary and intriguing, to the point that even when it disgusted me, I could not stop watching. I'd love to hear from anyone who has seen the documentary, what you thought! Obviously me being an adoption worker affected how I reacted, so it would be interesting to hear other opinions.