There’s something rather eerie in this film still, which we would say we couldn’t quite put our finger on—were there not a massive finger right in the centre of it. The image is taken from Margin Time 3, the third film in a series by Liam Gillick shot from his apartment overlooking the United Nations. The series acts as a commentary on the ongoing rather dystopian issues facing the world: the first showed the construction and demolition of a “temporary” building for UN workers that ended up standing for six years; and the third combines this footage with Gillick’s essay A Long Sentence from an Angry White Man, published just prior to the election of Donald Trump.
This footage and text—merged together with the sort of ambient music often heard seeping through New York City nail salons and massage studios, and hands swiping and scrolling—form a critique of our modern times: digitally disembodied, veering ever closer to destruction, led by terrifyingly ignorant but powerful “angry white men”. The piece will be on show as part of Gillick’s solo exhibition The Night of Red and Gold at Maureen Paley in London until 17 November 2019.
