DAVID BLANDY
MACHINEMA [MACHINE CINEMA]
MARCH 26 2022/26 MARZO 2022 (MIC, IN SITU)
Introduced by Matteo Bittanti
androids dream
machinima/digital video (2560 x 1440), color, sound, 5’ 18”, 2021, United Kingdom
TRAILER/EXCERPT
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Con Androids Dream, l’artista decostruisce l’estetica cyberpunk, un genere letterario e cinemtatografico definita da opere canoniche come Neuromante di William Gibson e Blade Runner di Ridley Scott. Androids Dream presenta strati di simulacri multipli, dagli asset dell’Unreal Engine che paiono un videogioco cyberpunk, all’appropriazione di Snatcher di Hideo Kojima, esso stesso un replay videolduico di Blade Runner, fino al voice over di una mimesi algoritmica della voce stessa di Blandy, un deepfake. Il film decostruisce il formato e, a sua volta, si scompone, ripetendosi, rifrangendosi e riavvolgendosi.
In Androids Dream, the artist deconstructs the cyberpunk aesthetic, an aesthetic defined by such now canonical works such as William Gibson’s Neuromancer and Riley Scott’s Blade Runner. Androids Dream is made of layers of multiple simulacra, from the Unreal Engine assets that look like a cyberpunk video game, to the appropriation of Hideo Kojima’s Snatcher, itself a replay of Blade Runner in videogame form, through to the voiceover spoken by an algorithmic mimesis of Blandy’s own voice, a deepfake. The film breaks down the form, and in turn breaks down, repeating, refracting, and going into reverse.
L’ARTISTA
THE ARTIST
La pratica di David Blandy consiste nella disamina critica dell’influenza della pop culture che ha sperimentato nel corso della sua vita, dall’hip hop e dal soul, ai videogiochi e ai manga. Le sue opere includono performance e video e utilizzano riferimenti campionati da fonti disparate che costruiscono e riassemblano costantemente il senso di sé. I film di Blandy sono distribuiti da LUX. L’artista è rappresentato da Seventeen Gallery di Londra. Le sue opere sono state presentate in numerose istituzioni tra cui Tate, Londra, Regno Unito; FACT, Liverpool, Regno Unito; BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, Regno Unito; INIVA, Londra, Regno Unito; Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, Germania; Spike Island, Bristol, Regno Unito; Turner Contemporary, Margate, Regno Unito; Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, Monaco; Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finlandia; Serpentine Gallery, Londra, UK; Witte de With, Rotterdam, Olanda; Modern Art Oxford, UK; Kölnischer Kunstverein, Colonia, Germania; Site Gallery, Sheffield, UK e Focal Point Gallery, Southend-on-Sea, UK. Blandy vive e lavora a Londra.
David Blandy’s practice consists of in-depth investigations into the pop cultural forces that he experienced throughout his life, from hip hop and soul, to computer games and manga. His works slip between performance and video, reality and construct, using references sampled from the wide, disparate sources that construct and constantly reassemble his sense of self. David Blandy’s films are distributed through LUX. The artist is represented by Seventeen Gallery in London. Blandy’s work has been shown at numerous public institutions including Tate, London, UK; FACT, Liverpool, UK; BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK; INIVA, London, UK; Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, Germany; Spike Island, Bristol, UK; Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK; Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, Monaco; Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland; Serpentine Gallery, London, UK; Witte de With, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Modern Art Oxford, UK; Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany; Site Gallery, Sheffield, UK and Focal Point Gallery, Southend-on-Sea, UK. Blandy lives and works in London.
androids dream
machinima/digital video (2560 x 1440), color, sound, 5’ 18”, 2021, United Kingdom
Created by David Blandy
Courtesy of David Blandy and Seventeen Gallery, 2022
Director, producer, writer: David Blandy
