Cameron Platter
Cape Town, South Africa
Artist’s Statement
The goings on in contemporary South Africa- the shenanigans, sleaze, sweat, dirt, perversity, politics, economics and absurdity are the backdrop for my work. I document, in a deviant way, what is happening around me in South Africa. I’m fascinated by what makes people laugh, and the ability of people to laugh at themselves.
My work is narrative driven, telling universal stories, most often through drawing, video, and sculpture- using all three mediums to link various tales. However, I don’t restrict myself solely to these media- I collaborate with a wide range of people- whether it’s the different processes of making my sculptures, drawings and videos; or painting murals, or showing my videos in obscure places, or through performances…
I favour a hands-on, homemade approach and aesthetic, and have a great love of traditional art and its histories. Much of my work, although contemporary, and commenting on contemporary issues and technology is channeled through an old- fashioned approach and sensibility…
OR IS IT REALLY AN ISLAND…
Zoom on island
OR A SECRET HI-TECH FACILITY/ LAIR???
Island opens in half to reveal cut-out facility/ lair
satellite dish grows out of lair and sends red circles into the sky
Zoom
Cut to series of 4 interiors
Lizard in lab coat walks through them, interiors constructed from cutouts, all have playboy pinups on the wall
Cut to SHAKIRA DANCE STRIP SCENE (chop up of la Loba soundtrack)
Suddenly dance sequence turns into TV screen with static. Clawed, gloved hand changes the channel. Cut to ad
GET THIS 3 IN 1 PENIS COMBO
ONLY R 1000 IF YOU CALL 0727123082 NOW
AND WE’LL GIVE YOU THIS JUMBO SIZED LYODE CREAM ABSOLUTELY FREE
TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY…
BUT EVEN THOUGH EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT ON ASSTROPOLIS, THE ZEBRAS WANTED TO GIVE BACK TO THE INTERGALACTIC COMMUNITY. ON PLANET EARTH, WHERE BAD THINGS HAPPENED ALL THE TIME, SHIT WAS TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL. THE ZEBRAS DECIDED TO SORT THINGS OUT ONCE ALL FOR ALL BY FORMING A TEAM OF…”
Text scrolls downwards, white on black
Text disappears, hold black for 3 sec
KILLER TRANSVESTITE ZEBRAS FROM OUTER SPACE
Text flashes Yellow/ White
IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT
Noir sound (Third Man soundtrack) Text flickering, grainy, black and white.
Quick cuts of rain and lightning flashes
Cut to exterior view of door. It reads “Prince Barrack Hussein/ Private Investigator”
Zoom through door
Cut to interior view of run down office, crocodile (in red hat) paces up and down
I WAS WATCHING THE RAIN POUR…
cut to shot of rain
THE CLOCK TICK…
shot of a clock ticking- second hand moves slower than a second
AND THE SMOKE CURL LAZILY TO THE CEILING
smoke spirals past a light, against a bare brick wall
WHEN I HEARD A KNOCK AT THE DOOR…
Artist’s Links
website: www.cameronplatter.com
gallery links: www.whatiftheworld.com/featured-artists/cameron-platter/