'88 by ruffmercy scored by Danalogue, Idris Rahman, Sarathy Korwar and Leafcutter John. Made for Video Jam x Basquiat at The Barbican 28.01.18. A specially curated programme of short films with live musical accompaniment responding to 'Basquiat: Boom For Real' - the first ever UK retrospective of Jean-Michel Basquiat's work, currently being shown at the Barbican Arts Centre in London.
'88 is an active collaboration between director and animator ruffmercy in collaboration with London’s finest experimental musicians - Danalogue, Leafcuter John, Idris Rahman and Sarathy Korwar - a spectacular 3 screen animation capturing the unstoppable energy of Basquiat’s output, and his use of colour and text.
Artists statements about '88
Danalogue: “The first thing that struck me about Basquiat's work is his use of colour, a tangible sense of emotional transference, and a vibrant energy that leaps off the canvas. Delving deeper, I became aware that underneath the immediacy of his aesthetic there are celebrations of his heroes, references to mythical texts, and hidden, personal messages that express more than meets the eye. I also felt an affinity between the thriving underground artist scene of the Mudd Club in the late ‘70s and the community of artists I'm part of. For this special collaboration, between the ostensibly disparate and idiosyncratic musicians in the Danalogue group and filmmaker ruffmercy, I wanted to combine our myriad inspirations and musical languages, and encode them into a new sonic space that resonates with the bombastic intensity and colour that I perceive within the fabric of Basquiat’s incredible works.”
ruffmercy: “I feel like a thief that has been given keys to a palace for an evening. Once entering that palace there is only me and the treasures within. I get to wear his crown and to dance in his slippers; what an opportunity, if only for one night.”
