I Thought You'd Never Ask

Artist:
Tess Landells

I am a fan—actors and celebrities are the objects of my desire. 'I thought you’d never ask' surrenders to the realm of fandom, questioning and contemplating the desire to be with our idols, to be them, to possess what they possess, and to be included in their world. Leonardo DiCaprio functions as my muse.

Embodying his character from The Beach, his internal dialogue is subtitled (and directive) atop my own footage, constructing a film which allows our worlds to finally become one. A melancholic love story, but ultimately one of loneliness and loss. Fetishising him as Jack Dawson in Titanic, desire and possession entangle, resulting in a face-to-face rhythmic thrust.

I use footage sourced from films and television mixed with my own to create new videos and installations. Isolating moments; repeating them, slowing them down, speeding them up, bringing awareness to their power and cliché. I celebrate and also question the pleasure of consuming by disrupting the structure of a feature-length film.

Balancing that understanding of the fake within film, however still wanting to be seduced by its promise time and time again, my work considers the power of the copy in its myriads of representations and projections.

Opening will be on Thursday 7 March, 6–8pm.