| Chris Cunningham
September 16 - November 1, 2002
For a schedule of Public Programs accompanying this exhibition, click here
This exhibition is a selection of artworks by acclaimed
British artist Chris Cunningham in collaboration with musicians Björk and Aphex
Twin (Richard D. James). Cunningham utilizes futuristic and sometimes apocalyptic
iconography - the demonic characters in Come to Daddy (1997) and Windowlicker
(1998) and the humanoid robots in All is Full of Love (1999) - to examine issues of
trans-identity. His firm visual style combines the drama of contemporary cinema with the
poetics of electronic music.
Rather than enrolling in art school, at age 17 Cunningham
began working in the film industry as a special effects model artist and in 1995 began
directing music videos. Using the devices of science fiction, horror, and B-movies,
Cunningham articulates the mysteries and myths of our accelerated technological age with
imagery empowered by humor, wit, and irony.
Come to Daddy (1997), a video for a track by Aphex
Twin, is an unnerving and menacing depiction of demonic androgynous children, all
miniature clones of James. As they scurry through city streets, these hellions terrorize
innocent passers-by while their emaciated devilish leader is released from a television
set. This haunting video addresses the relationship between rebellious youth culture and
the institutional mainstream.
Windowlicker (1998), the sequel to Come to Daddy,
is set in the palm tree-lined streets of California. This video rejects the ethos of MTV
promos, where videos are little more than an index of popular culture. This parody of
traditional rap videos features gaudy jewelry, profane language, elaborate dance
sequences, and stretch limousines. In this six-minute work, Cunningham dismantles the
explicit sexism and tired erotica inherent in promotional videos and addresses
socioeconomic realities and gender politics by masking bikini-clad women with Aphex Twin's
face.
Cunningham’s All is Full of Love (1999) is a
video for a song by award winning Icelandic musician Björk. The tenderness and mystery in
Björk’s vocal style is echoed in Cunningham’s imagery. Using Björk’s
lyrics as his point of departure, Cunningham depicts two humanoid robots being assembled,
kissing, and falling in love. The robots, despite their awkward rotating components,
perform delicate gestures of human intimacy in a clinical environment. The robots’
emotional intensity and sexual tension reverse the science fiction notion of dehumanized
machines.
flex (2000/2001), Cunningham’s first video as
an independent artist, premiered at the "Apocalypse" exhibition at London's
Royal Academy in 2000. Produced with the help of renowned British musician
Aphex Twin, arguably the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic
music, flex marked Cunningham's entrance into the art world. Cunningham’s
visuals – along with Aphex Twin’s musical score - exemplify the artist’s
interest in anatomy, figuration, and choreography through images of two nude bodies
engaged in physical violence and sexual intimacy.
Although the imagery is abstract, the film’s narrative
is a structured sequence. From complete darkness, a light unfolds to reveal flesh and
bone. Bodies, obstructed by shadows, twist in an amorphous milky light-source trailing
slowly into infinity.
Chris Cunningham is organized by P.S.1
Chief Curator Klaus Biesenbach and P.S.1 Registrar / Project Manager Jeffrey Uslip and is
installed in P.S.1’s first floor north galleries.
This exhibition is made possible by Anthony d’Offay
Gallery, London. Special thanks to the artist and Chiara Bersi Serlini.
For more information, please contact the P.S.1 Press Office
at press@ps1.org |
