 Lies, 2004 DVD still, 25 min. looped, wall projection "Lies Series", produced as video frames, lambda print, plexiglas, dibond, 100 x 130 cm Stefano Cagol Lies Platform is proud to introduce a solo exhibition by Italy based artist Stefano Cagol. "Lies" is a project about the difficult moment we are living, our fragile international reality. "In the new version of the video "Stars & Stripes" created for this solo exhibition "Lies", there is a greater subtlety in the movement of the flag, which emphasizes the changing nature and dynamism of a world that becomes increasingly complex and diverse as it is affected by significant internal and external events. At intervals of between ten seconds and five minutes, "Stars & Stripes" is interspersed with five seconds of darkness as the image changes in slow motion. Distorted and linked images of modern society are superimposed onto the flag as it moves eerily like a jellyfish or a ray, while the constantly changing image at times resembles a mask worn by a man who is plotting evil. The Stars and Stripes glimmering in the sunlight as it flutters against a background of clear blue sky could also be a symbol of what the Americans call "justice". In contrast, as the flag becomes a shadow against the grey sky, it is also reminiscent of a dark cloud looming over society. The soundtrack has been recorded in the streets of New York but as the recording has been adjusted to play at low-speed, rather than representing the cheers and applause rising from a festive parade in Manhattan, the soundtrack conveys a sense of foreboding. At the end of the film, the Stars and Stripes, which represents both truth and lies, begins to move towards the observer. It is as though Cagol is asking us to consider how each of us can remain autonomous and continue to raise the "flag of imagination" in this world which we are all part of, a world in which truth and lies continually change and in which good and evil have many faces…" (Mami Kataoka, Senior Curator, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo). "The continuous aesthetic mutability of a flag - in this case the American one - moved by the wind makes me think of the changeability, the insecurity of ideals, promises, and truth to the point that all seems wrong, as if it were only "Lies". It makes me think how hard a man can fight and die in the simple name of a flag. In this moment, I think in particular of the States, they try by any means to persuade the world that their war projects are truthfully and peacefully aimed" (Stefano Cagol). This exhibition is the first step of a public art project on the symbol of the flag, which will run through other cities with the collaboration of international art spaces in Tokyo and New York, and of the Civic Gallery of Contemporary Art in Trento, Italy, where the first version of the video was showed for the group show "New Italian Space". Stefano Cagol was born in Trento, Italy, in 1969. He lives in Italy, often works in New York. Project supported by Asteria Multimedia. Exhibition: 4 February - 12 March 2005 Gallery hours: Thu-Sun 12 - 6 pm Platform 3 Wilkes Street GB-London EI 6QF Telephone +44 (0)20 7375 2973 Email slawson@platform.dircon.co.uk www.platformprojects.org.uk Special web project: www.liesproject.com Platform is a project space co-ordinated by Sheila Lawson which shows work by artists from aboard and from the UK. |
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