Hunting Lodge co-founder Mark James went viral again a few weeks ago. Thats twice in 2 years! (google Dirty Bird Logo) This time fooling around with the media, whilst delivering a very strong message. A message made even more poignant in light of recent world events. The piece also launched, and was included in the Cardiff Contemporary Visual Arts Biennial. Some words from the man himself:
“In 1977 the human race sought to communicate with life in space using a gold disc, intending for life forms galaxies away to play it and to get to know us through our music and other cultural references. The majority of those messages were quite self-satisfied, suggesting how advanced we’d become as Western civilisations. The dramatic fireball seen across Cardiff Bay on Wednesday evening, which looked like a meteor, was the disc being returned to us by those who had found the original ‘Voyager’ record. It is part of ‘A Response’, my work for Cardiff Contemporary visual arts biennial. It’s a response from whatever life lives out beyond the stars, who might be watching us and the state our world is in, to say ‘what have you done?’ as we continue to foster wars and pollute the planet at will. By displaying the new gold disc with new and updated messages, producing videos of fire in the sky that get media attention and creating a soundtrack with the help of Cian and Bunf from Super Furry Animals, I hope it might offer a moment of reflection for people.”
www.markjamesworks.com
Cardiff Contemporary Visual Arts Biennial (20.10–19.11.16), The Angel, Castle St, Cardiff CF10 1SZ Yr Angel, Heol y Castell, Caerdydd CF10 1SZ www.cardiffcontemporary.co.uk
