A couple of months ago, Supreme surprised us with a drop in collaboration with Chris Cunningham. It was a capsule collection which was, in fact, focused on the work of the audiovisual producer along with Aphex Twin, which was brought to the present to remind us that, after all, this was the man who reprogrammed the visual imagery of the post-digital era, preparing it for the post-human era, known for its ‘ugly’-cyborg concept as well as deep fakes, as a way of life. He was also the man who brought our reality to a world of freaks and other eccentricities that were escaping from the beauty of digital retouching and the ‘right kind’ of lighting to explore that which dwells in the shadows.
5 MUSIC VIDEOS TO UNDERSTAND CHRIS CUNNINGHAM
It may very well be for his recent collaborations with Supreme, or for his pater familias-like figure in the post-digital era, but it’s safe to say that Chris Cunningham’s name is still (and will continue to be) relevant. For these reasons, it’s important to remember those music videos with which he has made a place for himself in the podium of audiovisual history.
Anyone who lived through the ‘90s and the transition towards the new millennium will already know Chris Cunningham’s name... But it’s particularly interesting to think about him as sort of a father who’s the shadows, who has an aesthetic that is now more relevant than ever before. In the era of social media and magical photographic retouching apps, images have become polarising: on the one hand, the sublimation of traditional beauty via digital treatment; and, on the other, the vindication of a type of ugliness that is becoming a kind of dissidence towards the canon.
It’s safe to say that we can find links between Cunningham and Matieres Fecales. Not only with them, but also Arca, Grimes, Sita Abellán and the cyborg generation. For all of these reasons, because Chris Cunningham is more relevant than ever, hereunder we’re remembering five of his music videos that ensured him his path towards creative eternity.
5. Leftfield’s AFRIKA SHOX. The metaphor’s simple but accurate: a homeless African man pleads for assistance in the streets whilst he –quite literally– breaks to pieces, and the whole world turns a blind eye to this disaster.
4. Portishead’s ONLY YOU. Beth Gibbons (and other bodies) floating in the middle of a dark alleyway as if they were inside of an invisible, nocturnal amniotic fluid is, definitely, one of the most iconic images of the ‘90s.
3. Madonna’s FROZEN. Obviously, Chris Cunningham was also tempted by the mainstream...And that showed his particular brilliance by signing one of the most magnetic, mysterious and enduring music videos from Madonna.
2. Björk’s ALL IS FULL OF LOVE. Love in the times of anthropomorphic robots? Cunningham took Ghost in the Shell’s look and feel and placed a robotic version of Björk making out with another robotic version of Björk. Instant classic .
1. COME TO DADDY / WINDOWLICKER. The duo formed by Chris Cunningham and Aphex Twin work like two peas in a pod... They are on top of their game when their identities are intertwined and they deliver disturbing music videos that are full of images that stay ingrained in your mind no matter how long you last saw them.