Virtual reality has emerged as one of the most exciting trends in the art world. Paul McCarthy (*1945) is known for his provocative sculptures. The work on display is the first time he has created a virtual sculpture. It is based on the artist’s long-term project, "Coach Stage Stage Coach”, (“CSSC”). Encompassing a wide range of different media, the project includes a new film, inspired by John Ford’s Western of the same title from 1939, starring John Wayne. Taking the form of a spin-off, a phenomenon associated with the entertainment industry, the Virtual Reality work builds on a scene from the film by the artist, involving the two characters, Mary (played by Rachel Alig) and Eve (played by Jennifer Daley). Caught in the claustrophobia of constant surveillance by the two women and their doubles, the viewer becomes part of a vicious mind game. All social conventions break down as the plot unfolds and escalates into a psychosexual trip of rape and humiliation.
Entering the virtual reality of Lemmerz’s "La Apparizione", one encounters the “Crucified One.” A golden, tortured body, released from the cross and floating in absolute darkness, his wounds revealing flesh and blood behind the glistening, metal surface of his skin. Exposed to the viewer through the extreme visuality of the VR medium is a fusion between the suffering “Saviour” and a bodybuilder, bordering on vulgarity. In this space, between pathos and irony, between fake and real, the Silver Surfer and Jesus Christ, the bodily event of death is endured – this death that we live.
