The Manbody by Elliot Dodd is a short film being screened at Zabludowicz Collection. It provides odd viewing that soothes as much as it disconcerts.
For Elliot Dodd’s premiere solo exhibition, The Manbody, the Jersey-born London-based artist has produced a 4K digital film. Honing in on a conversation between a male and female character sitting in the back of a luxury people carrier in an underground car park, the film borrows stylistically from hip hop music and commercial promotional videos.
Based loosely on Plato’s Timaeus (c 360 BC), the two speak about reincarnation, the nature of time, physical health and desire. The guy is immersed in playing a Sony Playstation VR system throughout the feature. Both of have some fucked up extra vivid cartoony graphics over their faces for some sort of effect. The fella looks like a member of Daft Punk with a surreally fleshy and ever-undulant coxcomb hovering just in front of his mouth. The girl looks like she has a glossy lime green Homer Simpson Muppet mask superimposed atop her face. Together, facing forward as the chat, they seem intimate but detached.
As absurd as it sounds, it’s visually rich and compelling to view. Awkward but somehow familiar. I loved it.
The Manbody is part of Zabludowicz Collection Invites, a series of shows dedicated to solo presentations by UK-based artists without commercial gallery representation. It runs until 28 May 2017 at Zabludowicz Collection, 176 Prince of Wales Road, NW5 3PT. Find out more at zabludowiczcollection.com.
