![]() ![]() Her hyperbolic, surreal and absurdist creations offer their viewers an ‘artified’ and guiltfree version of that pleasure most of us have indulged in, namely secretly thoroughly enjoying an episode of X-Factor whilst overly mocking it. However, Maclean’s satire does not take a Bourdieuian sociologically deterministic stance, which condemns those subtle distinctions of taste that are always indicative of class belonging. When, in one of the final scenes, the prince asks his twin pauper ‘What is the difference between us?’ he seems to be indirectly questioning the politically charged segregation between kitsch and good taste. Please Sir… is a highly sophisticated composition of popular culture detritus, appropriating the lowbrow language of reality, talent and tabloid talk shows, yet sitting comfortably in the comparably niche context of a contemporary art space. This makes it impossible to focus on both simultaneously, so that drama collapses into a mash-up of postures, signifiers of taste and absurd political correctness, ridiculing the ostensibly British obsession with class, national identity and status. Maclean’s performances come across as a caricatured melodrama played out by stereotyped and emptied out identities, formally reinforced by the position of the two screens, which are placed one in front of the other. Please Sir… is a highly sophisticated composition of popular culture detritus, appropriating the lowbrow language of reality, talent and tabloid talk shows Wearing extravagant self-designed costumes and garish make-up, the artist plays every character within the film, performances which are then greenscreened on to complex backgrounds. Maclean’s videos are collages of lip-synced voices appropriated from popular television and the internet (in this case from various productions of ‘The Prince and The Pauper’, ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’), resulting in cliché-ridden and creepily familiar fictions, characterised by an oneiric causality which nonetheless has a linearity within the storytelling. Please Sir… is a two-channel video projection loosely inspired by Mark Twain’s ‘The Prince and The Pauper’ with a trace of ‘Oliver Twist’ starring a cockney/Victorian/Glaswegian homeless boy in Adidas stripes and a vermilion-coloured Tudor Prince. It is an exciting new space at one of Europe’s most advanced digital arts schools, dedicated to working with artists at the forefront of creative technology.There’s a combination of inventiveness, ambition and level of technical skill, not to mention a distinctive baroque sensibility, to Rachel Maclean’s work that one doesn’t see often. Modal encompasses an open plan gallery, cinema space, VR/XR studio, a large screen digital hall, and a striking, multi-story LED façade on the outside of the building. Initially benign and apologetic, they tell convoluted stories and attempt to elicit money, with their protestations soon becoming more sinister. The user is approached by several privileged city dwellers whose heads are large smartphones. Rachel Maclean’s ‘I’m Terribly Sorry’, a virtual reality experience, is set in a dystopian British urban landscape filled with oversized Union Jack-emblazoned tourist merchandise. Their technology infused contemporary art practices exist at the intersection between real life and simulated worlds. With 2D and 3D computer graphics created with technologies such as Unity and Unreal engine software, their artistic investigations are pushing the boundaries of contemporary art, changing the rules of the game and creating a new playground for art. Evans, Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Jenna Sutela, Joshua Citarella, Juan Cortés, Lu Yang, Rachel Maclean, and DIS. The exhibition features work by nine prominent international artists: Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Auriea Harvey, Cécile B. Through video installations, audio-visual works, multiplayer experiences and virtual reality, the exhibition explores the ongoing digitization of our societies and how game engine culture has impacted our relationship to images, sounds and interactivity. Resistance and Velocity in Game Engine Culture’, curated by Valentino Catricalà. The School of Digital Arts (SODA)’s new exhibition space Modal opened its doors with an inaugural exhibition in June, entitled ‘ SlipStreamSlip. ![]()
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