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"I am not me, the horse is not mine"
 Monday, January 7, 2013

William Kentridge : I am not me, the horse is not mine, The Tanks, Tate Modern

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     "I am not me, the horse is not mine comprises eight six-minute films which share one
    soundtrack. The films are projected simultaneously across the walls of the tank and each
    is played on a continuous loop to create an immersive audio-visual environment, which
    resists the establishment of a single narrative. Each short film contributes layers to a story
    that references Russian modernism, from Soviet film of the 1920s and 1930s to the
    calamitous   end of the Russian avant-garde.
    Kentridge mixes many film techniques from stop-motion animation to shadow play to
    create a dynamic moving collage. Preparatory acting workshops for Kentridge’s stage
    production of Dmitry Shostakovich’s 1928 satirical opera The Nosefurnished many of the
    silhouettes used in the films. On top of projections of these human figures, paper cut-outs
    were interposed to establish links between the constructivism of artists such as 
    El Lissitzky and Russian filmmakers.
    The Nose is based on Nikolai Gogol’s 19th-century story of the same name. It tells of an 
    official whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. In one of the films, 
    Kentridge himself plays the character of the nose, superimposing a large cut-out nose onto
    his head and torso. Another features a perpetual procession showing symbols of the 
    Soviet era and the Russian avant-garde, including a group pulling a model of Vladimir
    Tatlin’s Tower.
    The individual films are titled Majesty Comrade Nose; Prayers of Apology; A Lifetime of 
     Enthusiasm; Country Dances I (Shadow); Country Dances II (Paper);That Ridiculous
    Blank Space Again (A One-Minute Love Story); Commissariat for Enlightenment and The 
    Horse is Not Mine. The films were edited by Catherine Meyburgh and the soundtrack,
    which is a critical element of the installation, was composed by Phillip Miller, both long-
    term collaborators of Kentridge."

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PRESS RELEASE

The Tanks, Tate Modern

16 October 2012