Based on a selection of videos and images unearthed from the far corners of the web, Jon Rafman’s work explores the influence of contemporary media and technologies on present experience.
In his practice, Rafman employs a rich vocabulary of internet subcultures, virtual worlds, and video games to create a body of work that reframes the concepts of present, future, memory, nostalgia, identity, and psyche.
Rafman’s most recent film – Minor Daemon, Vol. 1 (2021) – is set in a surreal dystopian universe that resembles a delusional dream of a Hieronymus Bosch raised on 4chan, an imageboard website founded in 2003 by American Chris Poole. The film follows the intertwining fates of two young men, Billy and Minor Daemon, who share an extraordinary talent for online video games and go through a series of nightmarish events.
introduction
Jon Rafman (video contribution)
Bartolomeo Pietromarchi MAXXI Arte Director
Ilaria Marotta CURA Magazine Founder
Andrea Baccin CURA Magazine Founder
Single-channel HD video with stereo sound, 65′
Courtesy: the artist and Sprüth Magers Berlin, London and Los Angeles
Music by James Ferraro
In collaboration with CURA.
Based on a selection of videos and images unearthed from the far corners of the web, Jon Rafman’s work explores the influence of contemporary media and technologies on present experience.
In his practice, Rafman employs a rich vocabulary of internet subcultures, virtual worlds, and video games to create a body of work that reframes the concepts of present, future, memory, nostalgia, identity, and psyche.
Rafman’s most recent film – Minor Daemon, Vol. 1 (2021) – is set in a surreal dystopian universe that resembles a delusional dream of a Hieronymus Bosch raised on 4chan, an imageboard website founded in 2003 by American Chris Poole. The film follows the intertwining fates of two young men, Billy and Minor Daemon, who share an extraordinary talent for online video games and go through a series of nightmarish events.
introduction
Jon Rafman (video contribution)
Bartolomeo Pietromarchi MAXXI Arte Director
Ilaria Marotta CURA Magazine Founder
Andrea Baccin CURA Magazine Founder
Single-channel HD video with stereo sound, 65′
Courtesy: the artist and Sprüth Magers Berlin, London and Los Angeles
Music by James Ferraro
In collaboration with CURA.