Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle: Cremaster 4,1,5 & 2 in conjunction with Matthew Barney: Redoubt at Hayward Gallery.
The Cremaster Cycle is a series of five visually extravagant films created by artist Matthew Barney that blasted its way into the art world nearly 20 years ago, and has had a lasting impact ever since: its influence can be found in film, video, art, media, commerce, theatre and more. Barney himself performs characters as diverse as a satyr, a magician, and even the infamous murderer Gary Gilmore. Filmed over eight years, from 1994 to 2002, the films themselves are a grandiose mixture of history, autobiography and mythology, creating an intensely private universe where symbols and images are layered and interconnected. Created for the big screen only and unavailable for many years, The Cremaster Cycle is a unique, must-see experience, guaranteed to leave you awestruck and mystified in a glorious way.
Cremaster 4
(1994, starring Matthew Barney as the Loughton Candidate)
Somewhere between a vaudevillian Victorian comedy and a road movie: set on the Isle of Man, where feverish motorbikes race through the landscape, and featuring a dandified, tap-dancing satyr (Barney) and three burly fairies picnicking on a grassy knoll.
Cremaster 1
(1995, starring Marti Domination as Goodyear)
A parody of the musical extravaganzas of Busby Berkeley, as filtered through the lens of Leni Riefenstahl’s Third Reich athletics.
Cremaster 5
(1997, starring Ursula Andress as the Queen of Chain, Matthew Barney as her Diva, her Magician, and her Giant)
Set against the Baroque backdrop of the Hungarian State Opera House. Performed as a lyric opera complete with ribboned Jacobin pigeons, a lovelorn queen, and her tragic hero.
Cremaster 2
(1999, starring Norman Mailer as Harry Houdini and Matthew Barney as Gary Gilmore)
A gothic Western premised loosely on the real-life story of criminal Gary Gilmore. Also includes an occultist séance – enacted with ectoplasm.
These screenings are presented in conjunction with the exhibition Matthew Barney: Redoubt at Hayward Gallery (until 25 July), featuring the artist's latest feature-length film alongside a series of imposing and intricate sculptures cast from fallen trees and over 40 engravings and electroplated copper plates.
Image Credit:
Matthew Barney
CREMASTER 1, 1995
Production still
1995 Matthew Barney
Photo: Michael James O’Brien
Courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels
