L.A. Raeven, Goodly Creatures, 2017
Ellen de Bruijne Projects, Amsterdam, March 04 – April 08 2017
camera & editing:
Rob van de Ven, Zapp Productions / Zapp Magazine
The exhibition “Goodly Creatures” is a follow up of L.A. Raeven’s exhibition at Museum Arnhem Wild Zone 3 (14/01–05/03/2017). In this gallery show L.A. Raeven are presenting their video “Goodly Creatures”, which was not on show in Museum Arnhem, as well as a new series of photographs made during the production of the installation Wild Zone 3 and a series of drawings.
Wild Zone 3
In Wild Zone 3 L.A. Raeven styled the appearances and choreographed the movements of a group of children. The similarities in how they look creates the impression that they are members of an androgynous sect: they are extremely tall, wear the same clothes, and it is unclear whether they are boys or girls. The artist duo portrays a kind of autonomous ‘wild zone’ for young people who evoke fear in the viewers because they are ‘different’. The youngsters do not conform to the prevailing notions of femininity and masculinity, and seem to be forever adolescent.
Wild Zone 3 is a sequel to Wild Zone 1 (2001) and Wild Zone 2 (2002), the video installations in which L.A. Raeven created a ‘state of being’, and, without a plot, filmed two similar, almost motionless individuals. Wild Zone 3 stems from the duo’s fascination for the new type of human that they see coming into existence. L.A. Raeven: ‘Men and women look more and more alike, and the body is increasingly being manipulated to our liking. The malleability of the body seems to know no bounds and is increasingly accepted as normal. For example, small children are given growth hormones if they are too short; this is a choice made by the parents who decide about the life and career of their offspring.
