Mdvanii.ch - The Work of BillyBoy* & Lala - Jungle Red

"JUNGLE RED MISTER MODERN INTERIOR"

A 2019 MDVANIIISM by BillyBoy* & Lala

FRAME ART FAIR , BASEL, June 8 -16, 2019

"Last Supper"
Photographic print 900X600 cm.
Edition of 10.

Invitation_frame_basel_2019_variations-22

These early silk screen on canvas paintings of Mdvanii, the first anatomically-correct art doll concept invented by BillyBoy* in 1989 were chosen to be incorporated in the Jungle Red Mister Modern Interior.

The installation is a conceived as a Golden Rule red box.

MDVANIIISM: a human-size Mdvanii-style piece of jewellery with its over-size Mdvanii gold tag.

A Metaphysical Room

For the second Edition of FRAME, organized by Bertrand Scholler and Hans Mautner, BillyBoy* & Lala present their new MDVANIIISM, entitled « Jungle Red* Mister Modern Interior» : an all-red Metaphysical room as an installation of artworks past and recent, including sculpture and artefact, silk screen paintings and photography, which all have in common the colour red. « Red is perfect for now : it is the colour of warnings, vital energy, révolutions, ceremony carpet and basic lipstick » says BillyBoy*. « Red reminds us that life is short and precious » says Lala.

*Jungle Red is the name of a nailpolish in the cult movie The Women by George Cukor (1939) after the successful play by American author Clare Boothe Luce. In the story, the Jungle Red nailpolish that catalyses the comedy-drama which ends up with an hilarious happy ending. The film had an all-female cast featuring some of the biggest stars of Hollywood: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard and Joan Fontaine.

Who is Mister Modern?

From 1975 to 1982, BillyBoy * created his own avatar named Mr Modern. Neo-futuristic character evolving in a universe of electronic appliances and design from 1930 to 1960, the artworks created under the Mr Modern entity are constantly recycling retro imagery and artifacts, TV culture, Pop Art, advertising, 1960s and 1970s gay pornography, fashion statements including vintage clothing, and numerous references to the nuclear age, consumerism, Surrealism and Dadaism

Collages, photography, drawings, paintings, performances, the artworks made under the entity of Mr Modern, himself a dream-like kind of dandy, appearing in playful situations, both candid and self-serious, explore a post-modern vision of styles and eras, a posture ahead of its time in many ways. A prolific visual expression that arises as a landmark of an artistic evolution.

The Jungle Red Interior 2019 Mdvaniiism by BillyBoy* & Lala is a vibrant homage to Mr Modern's spirit.

See more on Mr Modern.

Different angles of the installation featuring artworks dating from 2000 to 2019 incorporate "lived with" furniture and artifacts belonging to the Artists, each one painted red, and thusly transformed into MDVANIIISMS.

Part of BillyBoy* & Lala's work consist in photographing their own artworks, in this case the sculpture "The Last Supper" and turning them into another art form. The sculpture was intentionally transported in this Swiss landscape, not far for the artists' home of the time, a place that Lala chose because it evoked the park scene of Antonioni's cult movie Blow Up. According to Lala, it is also a reference to the scene in Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssee when the monolith appears on a moon's landscape.

Left: From the "Kachina Doll, Maybe" series, sculptures initiated by BillyBoy* & Lala in 2008, this new one is named "You Can Ring My Bell" and is actually electrified. In the middle, "Farewell Bettina" , silk screen on canvas and acrylic, and a 1960s vinyl doll.

Every piece is considered by the artists as a MDVANIIISM, each one evolving into its own Neo-futuristic timeline with all the embodiment of fetish as empowered artifacts.

Friends posing within the installation.

CONTACT
For special information and requests on the artworks:
Bertrand Scholler
55 rue de Bellechasse, 75007 Paris
Tel : +33 1 75 57 3939 / +33 6 98 22 1515