Joshua Pieper : Untitled (shoe-gum)

May 2 - July 16, 2006

In his videos Joshua Pieper re-contextualizes the mundane through hyperbole and his own “quirky logic” to render the familiar strange. Untitled (shoe-gum) is an intensified over-statement of the experience of stepping in gum. Five different views are presented side-by-side. This visual excessiveness is juxtaposed with a subtle, low sound that seems related, but is not quite right. The simultaneous seduction of the video is set off kilter by the sound and the viewer’s own relationship to the experience of stepping in a large wad of bright pink chewing gum. As the world becomes more virtual and adventures are experienced through games and movies, Pieper reminds the viewer of the visceral and odd experience of the everyday occurrence.

Image: Joshua Pieper, still from Untitled (shoe-gum), 2005, Five channel video, Courtesy of the Artist