Video

Endgame

Lisa Birke

2016, 14:00 minutes, colour, no dialogue

TAPECODE 1051.19

End Game is a rumination on dualistic thinking as pitfall of the human condition—metaphorically situated in both personal conflict within the self and interpersonal conflict between groups of people from a socio-political standpoint. In a single-channel video installation, good and evil, us and them, brawn and beauty, and black and white are pitted against one another in a psychological drama where no winner can be declared. A field of ladies, one side clad in white dresses and the other in black, stand face-to-face entrapped within a choreographed and mythological battle of will and death that is locked in an eternal stalemate.
The work also reflects the entrapment of the female within cinematic history in the embodiment of tropic roles lacking agency in a type of "puppet-play". The soundtrack features audio recordings of the evolution of the film--from hand spooled film to automated film projectors, and finally morphing into fighter pilot engine noise. As a further nod to cinematic history the image transitions from black and white to an enhanced colour profile and back again.

This work was initially created for "Our Mutual Friend", a group exhibition curated by Crystal Mowry at the Kitchener/Waterloo Art Gallery, Canada. This work was created as a response, by invitation, to three works selected by the artist from the permanent collection: William Ronald's abstract painting "Endgame", Wanda Koop's work on paper "Justice" and Tony Urquhart's print "Two Folly Bonnets".

The work is available in two formats:
1) A screening copy; a single half loop with a run-time slightly under 7minutes.
2) A looping gallery/museum version at 14minutes (one full loop).

Rental and Sales

Single Screening Rental

$140.00

Educational Purchase DVD (Bluray +$15)

$260.00

5 Year Educational Streaming License, Digital File with DVD Circulation Copy

$550.00

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