Darren Almond

16.06.2001 - 12.08.2001

De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam / Nederland

'Traction' is a video triptych about his parents in which the mother is the silent but emotional witness of the injuries sustained by the father, whose work as a building demolisher is attested by the scars on his body. It is a penetrating portrait with a social-realistic approach, as if it concerned a cinematic continuation of the painting of Gustave Courbet. The video images of mine shafts in Kazakhstan also remind us of nineteenth-century images and the disappearing industrial age. But the video was made in 2000’ and in this unedited form, devoid of all cinematic effects, it almost gives the impression of a live broadcast.... [...] produced in conjunction with Kunsthalle, Zurich. (Website De Appel Foundation)