balenciaga collaboration
A 25 minute video loop with previously unreleased tracks by DJ Hell, made in collaboration with Balenciaga.

Here is a dramatic tension in his work between the real and the imagined in his use of often-appropriated digital objects to create virtual landscapes, which frequently contain elements – animals, machines, fragments of videogames – that are recognisable from our day to day life. This creates a symbiotic relationship between the digital and the real. In a very real way digital space has now become an intangible reality. The worlds built by Robak have a distinctly cinematic sensibility that hyperbolises the shine and dramatic effects of 3D rendered animation. The aesthetic of his work is supremely important, drawing the viewer into a truly alluring, indulgent and strangely gratifying environment. There is a further challenge to the void between high-art and the worlds of 3D animation and gaming, in the intersection between depiction and simulation. This can be partially attributed to the vernacular of advertising Robak is so proficient at utilising.

Ad Infinitum
Ad infinitum is a parasitical entity which lives off human energy. It lives untethered and off the grid. This parasite reverses the dominant role that mankind has with respect to technologies: the parasite shifts humans from “users” to “used”. Ad infinitum co-exists in our world by parasitically attaching electrodes onto the human visitors and harvesting their kinetic energy by electrically persuading them to move their muscles. The only way a visitor can be freed is by seducing another visitor to sit on the opposite chair and take their place. Being trapped in the parasite’s cuffs means getting our muscles electrically stimulated in order to perform a cranking motion as to feed it our kinetic energy. This reminds us that, in the cusp of artificially thinking machines, we are no longer just “users”; the shock we feel in our muscles, the involuntary gesture, acknowledges our intricate relationship to uncanny technological realm around us.

روب مولهولاند
罗布穆赫兰
롭 멀홀랜드
ロブマルホランド
Роб Малхолланд

Rob studied at Edinburgh College of Art and graduated with a BA [Hon ] degree in 1986[…] His work explores the human relationship with the wider environment. His approach is not judgmental, more reflective and questioning about the ever-changing world around us. The human desire to leave a trace of ones-self for future generations has always intrigued him. It’s a driving force to create and leave a semblance of our-selves as individuals and as a society. The reflective figures ask us to look again and consider the symbiotic relationship we have with our natural and man-made environment.

Be the Inside of the Vase
Part I: Million Dollar Baby
Part II: Break the Vase
“I often invite viewers to participate, drawing strength from the audiences’ emotional vulnerability, and feelings of uneasiness, to complete the performance as a whole,” Morgan explains in her artist statement. “Here, my emotions become entwined with the audiences,’ creating a symbiotic relationship based on control and power.”