Whether you are a die hard Meryl Streep fan or you can simply recognize the tune of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, ‘The Character’ evokes the familiar, a memory, and a curiosity to any viewer visiting ACMI this summer.
South African-born Berlin-based artist Candice Breitz’s work re-frames popular culture in relation to the formation of both individual and collective identity. Breitz deconstructs the admiration of Hollywood idols, using their work and influence as material to open up in-depth questions about self-identity, and in doing so explores a fascinating flipside of popular culture. By focusing on individuals talking or acting against a black background, she re-presents the show business industry as an entity not related to the glamour it is usually associated with, but with the psychological effects of mass media on the general public, and in turn explores how our views of the world are shaped in particular ways.
Breitz’s first solo exhibition in Australia, ‘The Character’, presents several of her large-scale video installations and unveils her latest work, co-commissioned by ACMI and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.
In King (A Portrait of Michael Jackson), individuals play out their own version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, with varying degrees of confidence and self-consciousness – some use accessories and props and are performing with clear purpose, while others gaze nervously away throughout the piece. It reveals a universal connection to songs that have defined generations, however focussing this notion not on the singer himself, but on the thousands of people who are performers in a different, more personal sense.
In doing so, Breitz presents Hollywood celebrities as elusive figures whose careers and legacy impacts on millions of people. It presents us with some thought-provoking ideas – how does one person’s influence generate such power over so many people’s lives? In the work The Character, Breitz has interviewed a group of school children from India after showing them each a different Bollywood film, asking them to describe in detail the main child-character. The responses are put together in a montage which creates a continuous set of opinions about one collective character. It reveals the common traits of Bollywood personalities, de-constructing the genre and questioning the effects of character on audience, especially in relation to a genre that is unique to a specific culture.
In the Factum series, Breitz conducted separate intensive interviews with individuals from sets of twins. She re-edits the footage placing the siblings side by side, and the uncanny similarity of their appearance and responses creates a fascinating dialogue between them, a portrait of their views on themselves, each other and the world. We are captivated by the language and gestures of two people who live such similar but different lives. This work, while not primarily focused on popular culture, presents us with an almost sociological study of identity formation, questioning nature verses nurture and the distinction between recollection and first hand experience, with humour and narrative that can easily relate to our own lives.
‘The Character’ gives viewers a new perspective of cinema, music, and celebrity idols, turning the power around to bring personal lives to centre stage. Brietz accomplishes this challenging concept with a wonderful sense of humour, fun, and playfulness – not letting go of the ideals of popular culture, but simply letting us enjoy their qualities from a different, more pensive perspective.
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
December 6, 2012 to March 11, 2013
Melbourne
Stills from King (A Portrait of Michael Jackson), 2005, installation view
Photograph Jason Mandella
Factum Tremblay, 2009, video still
Images courtesy the artist, White Cube, London; Kaufmann Repetto, Milan; and Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg