Videos
PERILS OF A NEW WORLD
Video by Mathew Heymann
Edited by James Berry
For the first time in history humans are altering the systems of this planet. From the atmosphere to the oceans, the biodiverse rich jungles to the depth of the arctic, the human footprint is reaching such gargantuan proportions, scientists are labeling this a new geological era, the Anthropocene.
The complexity of Climate Change is the impetus for this show. How does one grapple with such an overwhelming and intense subject that effects the survival of so much life on this planet? Utilizing the human figure as well as animals to express dynamics, has been a tool humans have used throughout history in disentangling complex issues. Here we find that mechanism through motion and process. Using only reclaimed materials as a backdrop in building the work allows a connected approach to the systems at play within our society; attempting to minimize impacts and speak about these issues so dire for our survival. The New World is our history and our future, one that holds so much potential and such much peril.
PROCESS OF ACCELERATION
Video by Christophe Tong Viet
DIRECTOR I DOP I FILMMAKER
Location: Grenoble, France
Produced by: Street Art Fest Grenoble Alpes
Based on research about Grenoble, this piece speaks about the technological and environmentally focused innovation hub that Grenoble has become. How the geographic setting of Grenoble amid the mountains and rushing rivers, allowed for the advancement in early Hydrological energy and how that energy source paved the way for much greater advancements in science and technology today. The figures become an allegory for the technological advancements of humans through history, pulling the water from the neighboring rivers and harnessing energy into innovation throughout time. At the top of the wall sits an architectural drawing of a particle accelerator, The ESRF: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility which is in Grenoble. This stands for the current height of human technological advancement where particles are accelerated at the speed of light to create powerful x-rays and used to examine matter on a molecular level. A pursuit in understanding the world around us is crucial to create change, but how this knowledge is used and what change is created is the constant friction of civilization, an aspect emulated within the expressions of the figures.
Hidden within the work there is a tiny fragment from ESRF, the longest beam line from the drawing is the actual research station, ID21 of a scientist met on a visit to the ESRF, Marine Cotte. Marine uses the powerful beams created from particle acceleration to study the degradation process of paint on artworks. She had a great idea to give two yellow samples from her study of Van Gough’s famous “Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers” which were then embedded into the mural, furthering a connection to the site and the two-way road of artwork investigating scientific pursuits and scientific pursuits investigating art.
WILD DOGS
Video created by Zane Mayer of Chopemdown Films. Project commission by Kaaboo Music Festival
THE IMPACT OF DISCOVERY
New York based Canadian street artist Aaron Li-Hill decorated the building of the Cultural Arts Center of the biggest Technical University of Ukraine “KPI” (Kiev) with a large-scale mural “The Impact Of Discovery”. The mural was created during the International Festival of Urban Art called Mural Social Club 2016 that takes place in Ukraine from May 12 till July 30.
This piece speaks to two influential discoveries within the last two centuries. Painted on this multi-surfaced building is an explosion created from the Boson Higgs experiments, where two Hydrogen protons collide together at the speed of light. These experiments shed light on the nature of our universe and the particles which tie it together. Overlaid, a photograph by Etienne-Jules Marey made at the turn of the 20 century. Marey, a scientist and a contemporary of Eadweard Muybridge, was the first person to put multiple images into one plate making the first multiple exposed images. Marey along with Muybridge, were the godfathers of film and sowed the seeds that have given birth to the powerful cinematic industry—exporting Western culture globally—that we see today. The image of the man running, mirrored, becomes a symbol of hydrogen protons hurtled toward each other and of the impact that these discoveries have on the world around us and the world within us.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER
A short profile on Canadian contemporary artist Aaron Li Hill, by filmmaker Selina Miles.
Selina Miles covered The Long Beach Museum of Art’s 2016 show “Vitality & Verve: In the Third Dimension.” Presented in collaboration with POW! WOW! Long Beach and Los Angeles’ Thinkspace gallery, Vitality & Verve: In the Third Dimension showcases works by some of the world’s best street artists, muralists, and new contemporary artists placing an emphasis on their unique sculptural and installation practices. Highlighting this steadily expanding young art movement within a mainstream, museological context, the exhibition celebrates its momentum and cultural presence. The new contemporary movement may have begun in the public and urban domains, but now steadily continues to assert its significance within museum walls.
TRAP OF THE HUNTER, THE FLIGHT OF THE HUNTED
Unexpected presents “The Trap of the Hunter, The Flight of the Hunted” an Immersive indoor installation by Brooklyn based Canadian Artist Li-Hill curated by JUSTKIDS in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
This piece is about the cycle of natural selection. Here survival of both animals (the coyote and the faun) depends on their skill and cunning. A coyote dives into the underbrush to surprise it’s startled prey and a giant leap gives way to the chase.
Here the ‘Trap’ is also the cycle they are both locked into and the human element that influences this struggle. The white chaotic flow of wood alludes to industry and the global human effect, driving an ever more dire situation within this cycle.
WAASTA: ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Li-Hill is a Canadian visual artist currently based out of Brooklyn, who employs painting, illustration, stencilling, and sculptural elements within his works. With a background in graffiti and mural painting and a degree in Fine Arts, his works range from smaller multiples to enormous murals that explore industrialisation, scientific breakthrough, man versus nature and information saturation.”
IN PURSUIT OF PROSPERITY
This video created by Hardpin and Matt Heymann documents the process and motivation behind, “In Pursuit of Prosperity”, a site-specific installation by artist Li-Hill. Built within a glass stall inside of the East Broadway Mall in Chinatown, New York, this piece utilizes the symbol of the mythological Chinese Dragon to speak about issues of immigration, the exportation of culture as well as the movements of capital and goods dictated by the demands of global economic markets.
Like a tornado, this “dragon” envelops and whirls in an infinite loop that goes beyond the boundaries of the glass stall and encompasses the mall, the city and the system. This pursuit of prosperity that has swept through our world, changing the face of the planet and our societies is one of peril and one of golden success.
A special thank you goes to Outlaw Arts, Tony Chan, Hardpin, Matt Heymann, Julia Borowicz and the people of East Broadway Mall.
LI-HILL: WALL THERAPY 2015
Get a glimpse into the process of Li-HIll from WALL\THERAPY 2015 in Rochester, NY.
Li-Hill’s mural depicts two men engaged in the art of kung-fu tumbling down the wall.
The mural is located at 400 Atlantic St. Rochester, NY 14609.
WALL\THERAPY and URBAN NATION are joined together to launch an International exchange program between Rochester and Berlin this year. Artists curated by the UN Director Yasha Young were invited to participate and contribute to the program of WALL\THERAPY 2015, curated by Ian Wilson (founder, co-curator) and Erich Lehman (co-curator, lead organizer). WALL\THERAPY 2015 ran July 17 – 27, 2015.
Our theme for this year was surrealism and the fantastic.
Special thanks to our sponsors Montana Cans and our media partner Brooklyn Street Art.
ART + ENERGY: LI-HILL X MORGAN SOLAR
This project was brought together by the MaRS center for innovation and their Adjacent Possibilities program. Documenting the process behind the installation, this video and project paired one entrepreneur in the energy sector with one artist to address the issue of climate change.
ART AND SEEKING INTERVIEW
Li-Hill was Art and Seeking’s first interview in New York. He discusses the time he spent in Europe and Australia and how he cultivated his craft during those visits. “Inspiration comes from pushing through.”
PLANES OF ENGAGEMENT
Brought together with the Savage Habit Mural Project in Jersey City, NY. Video done by Li-Hill with music credit to Fever Rey – Concrete Walls
POOR SISTERS/ LI-HILL @ ARTS AND CRAFTS ‘FIELD TRIP’
Piece created in conjunction with the ‘Field Trip’ musical and cultural event held in the Fort York of Toronto. Commission by Arts and Crafts music label. Huge thanks to the Poor Sisters for creating this great lo-fi video of the process.
LI-HILL @ THE MASCOT
Installation created at the Mascot in Toronto, Canada. Video done by Visual Bass Photography. Music credit: Gold Panda – Same Dream China
AWOL CREW PRESENT FABRIC
Official video for AWOL Crew presents FABRIC. A Premier Australian Exhibition in Melbourne Australia
AWOL CREW PRESENT FABRIC (TEASER VIDEO)
LOST HABITAT
Addressing the issue of habitat loss and displacement, this installation juxtaposes the organic and the industrial within the dynamic setting of Relative Space in Toronto. The animals, all native to the surrounding enviroment, allude to the natural habitats while the paper cut-outs on the windows represent the urban growth that has replaced it. All made from blueprints of Toronto buildings there is a material echo of this dynamic. The mural is done all in aerosol, the paper cut outs have been cut by hand.