SCUM

SCUM

Curated by Raul Zamudio

October 2-31, 2007

THE ANNEX

601 W. 26th St., 14th flr.

NY, NY

Opening October 5, 6:00-9:00 pm

THE ANNEX is pleased to present SCUM, a solo show by Polish, New York-based artist Wojtek Ulrich. The exhibition consists of a three-channel film projection, a video sculpture, and a series of large-format digital photographs. The three-channel film, titled Scumdance, was shot in a cavernous underground complex called Der Riese located in Poland’s Sowie Mountains. The construction of the massive tunnels began a couple of years before World War II, but it was with the Nazi invasion of Poland that Der Riese acquired its sinister infamy where thousands of prisoners met their horrific deaths. This atrocious, historical backdrop becomes an apt setting for Ulrich’s 18 minute, cinematic tour de force projected on three, nine foot screens accompanied by a mesmerizing soundtrack. Along with Scumdance will be exhibited a video sculpture consisting of 48 monitors in the shape of a crucifix hung from the cieling. The monitors are connected to an antenna that receives television programs from around the world. The visual, audio, linguistic and cultural cacophony created from simultaneous transmission include Al-Jeezera, pornography, Disney Channel, religious channels of all denominations, HAMA Television, ESPN, BBC, Televisa, NRK ad infinitum. SCUM is an exhibition that is both primal and of the moment: one work bespeaks of man’s inhumanity and existential condition within a filmic setting that is concomitantly futuristic and archetypal, while the other work resides somewhere between Baudrillard’s “ecstasy of communication” and the Tower of Babel. A catalog will accompany the exhibtion with an essay by the curator.

Link to SCUM website: http://www.scuminstallation.com/