Alex in Town

Alex in Town, 2008
video-performance
sandwich cardboard, wood, metal, hidden human engine, 150 x 580 x 160 cm
video: 50″, loop, usually presented without sound

Alex in Town evolved from Animal, which was shown 2001 in DeAppel Museum, Amsterdam.
Other closely related work: Elephant Man (2005)

shown in:

“Wild Youths Riot School”, Museum Jajaknamusoup, Hoengseong-gun, South Korea (2018)
“If it works, it’s out of date”, Gallery Shilla (with Kim Kim Gallery), Daegu, South Korea (2009)
“New Sundays” (solo show), Galerie du Jour agnès b., Paris, France (2008)
“24. Kantonale Jahresausstellung”, Museum of Art Solothurn, Switzerland (2008)
“Impression 2008”, Kunsthaus Grenchen, Grenchen, Switzerland (2008)

see also:
Elephant Man, 2005
Animal, 2001


 

Excerpt from an Interview with Ji Yoon Yang (Director of Corner Art Space, Seoul) and Gregory Maass (Director of Kim Kim Gallery), March 2013, Seoul

JY: How does his performance usually differentiate from his drawing and installation?
GM: Thatʼs a super good question. But I donʼt have an answer to it. But I can tell you an anecdote about a video production where I assisted Robert, not so long ago, which is called Alex in Town.
JY: Where was it?
GM: He wasnʼt happy with me. There is lot of tension between Robert and me, especially when we do something art-related together. I was just assisting. It was in Grenchen, Switzerland. Back then he lived in this for him horrible little town where they produce all theSwatch watches out there and they have some skinheads and a bar and that´s it. But the skinheads are very civilized, because itʼs Switzerland. Yeah? They stopped at a crossing even at 4 oʼclock in the morning when the traffic light turns red. Anyway I helped him realize the performance/video which is called Alex in town. Alex was a huge white Cube 6 meters long, and about 2 by 2 meters. It was hollow, and I was inside driving it through Grenchen. It was Sunday morning when he was filming, I was pushing this block which was on small wheels through Grenchen. It was very noisy. Thatʼs Alex in town. Much later, maybe it was months, I dared to ask about who is this “Alex” by the way?, he said Alex like in Alexander the great, of course!
JY: You mean Alexander?
GM: Yes, Alexander the Great.

 

 

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