ART CITIES:N.York-Mark Leckey

Mark LeckeyDrawing on his personal experiences Mark Leckey returns frequently to the themes of desire and transformation, using a variety of media, including film, sculpture, sound and performance. He has an ongoing fascination with the affective power of images, music and technology, and often uses reconfigured archival footage in his work.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: MoMA PS1 Archive

“Containers and Their Drivers”, at MoMA PS1is the first comprehensive U.S. survey of Mark Leckey and the largest exhibition of his work to date. The exhibition brings together major bodies of Leckey’s work, including a broad array of video works and sculptural installations alongside new pieces made specifically for the exhibition. Among the highlights of the exhibition is Leckey’s breakthrough film “Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore” (1999), a portrayal of British dance culture, begins and ends with sequences of ethereal cloudscapes and includes a succession of scenes of dancing people, walking youths, and feet clad in Adidas Samba sneakers. Set to a soundtrack of trancelike music, racing cars, and sirens, these scenes both commemorate and reanimate the distinct ‘80s British subculture of the casuals. In the film Leckey also references the casuals’ penchant for brand names by using a voiceover listing the names of high-end clothing designers such as the Italian brand Fiorucci. The selection of the artist’s “Sound System sculptures” (2001-12), functioning stacks of audio speakers that recall those used in street parties in London; his pedagogical lecture performances: “GreenScreenRefrigeratorAction” (2010), a video and installation that considers “smart” objects and our increasingly technological environment. The exhibition includes a new iteration of the installation “UniAddDumThs” (2014), which Leckey created as a “copy” of a touring exhibition that he had curated the year before, and a newly expanded presentation of “Dream English Kid 1964–1999 AD” (2015), an autobiography told through what the artist calls “found memories” that have been compiled from sources like archival television clips, YouTube videos, and eBay ephemera, as well as meticulous reconstructions of specific memories using props and models. Combining deeply personal and popular subjects, this amalgamation of media allows Leckey to investigate the pivotal moments in technology and culture that have occurred in his lifetime.

Info: MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Ave. at the intersection of 46th Avenue, Long Island City, Duration: 23/10/16-5/3/17, Days & Hours: Thu-Mon 12:00-18:00, http://momaps1.org

Mark Leckey, Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (Video Still), 1999, © Mark Leckey, Courtesy Mark Leckey and Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York/Rome.
Mark Leckey, Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (Video Still), 1999, © Mark Leckey, Courtesy Mark Leckey and Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York/Rome

 

 

Mark Leckey, Installation view of “A Month of Making” 2/5-21//14 at Gavin Brown’s enterprise,New York, 1999, © Mark Leckey, Courtesy Mark Leckey and Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York/Rome
Mark Leckey, Installation view of: A Month of Making (2/5-21//14) at Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York, 1999, © Mark Leckey, Courtesy Mark Leckey and Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York/Rome

 

 

Mark Leckey, GreenScreenRefrigeratorAction, 2010, Performance view at Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York 2010, © Mark Leckey, Courtesy Mark Leckey and Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York/Rome
Mark Leckey, GreenScreenRefrigeratorAction, Performance view at Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York 2010, © Mark Leckey, Courtesy Mark Leckey and Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York/Rome

 

 

Mark Leckey, Installation View of UniAddDumThs (25/5-16//16) at Gavin Brown’s enterprise Rome, © Mark Leckey, Courtesy Mark Leckey and Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York/Rome.
Mark Leckey, Installation View of UniAddDumThs (25/5-16//16) at Gavin Brown’s enterprise Rome, © Mark Leckey, Courtesy Mark Leckey and Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York/Rome