THE TIME SURGEON I 2007 I 63’00”
The ‘Time Surgeon’ is an absurdist, highly theatrical video installation (partly inspired by Samuel Beckett’s ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ and Chris Marker’s ‘La Jetée’) where language has gone astray of its rationally accepted meaning and has acquired threatening, manipulative qualities. The video installation centres around a twisted narrative in which a disembodied character - imprisoned within a tape recorder - and the ‘Time Surgeon’, a sinister, sadistic character who uses the fast forward and rewind button to torture and send his ‘Victim’ forwards and backwards in time, struggle for the control of language.
NATHANIEL MELLORS (GBR/°1974)
Mellors creates ad-hoc sculptures, psychedelic theatre, and satirical films that explore the use and role of language. This year he was included in the Tate Triennial, London and had a solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Bureau, Amsterdam. Currently he is also included in the Artsway New Forest Pavilion in the Venice Biennial.
The Time Surgeon, 2007
Courtesy the artist and Matt’s Gallery, London