CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT, VIDEO PRODUCTION, EXHIBITION, INSTALLATION

Having brought together the worlds most important and prolific avant guard theatre director and the worlds biggest and innovative pop star, Dissident produced a series of 22 Robert Wilson Video Portraits of Lady Gaga.

The portraits were shot in October 2013 in London and premiered the following month in a groundbreaking installation at the Louvre Museum in Paris France.  This marks the first time the Louvre collaborated so closely with a contemporary artist and a pop culture icon, resulting in a rare and engaging exhibit that reflects on the historical relevance of the Louvre and the influence it has on contemporary creativity.

The Portraits are largely influenced by three master paintings from the Louvre’s vast permanent collection: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’s portrait of Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière (1806), Jacques-Louis David’s famed painting The Death of Marat (1806), and Andrea Solari’s The Head of Saint John the Baptist (1507). The fourth portrait "Flying" does not derive from the Louvre’s collection but is contemporary in nature while rooted in the ancient Japanese rope bondage Shibari. Shibari hinges itself on the west’s mind / body distinction, which a successful Shibari approach collapses. Among the many uses of Shibari is the body presented as a dynamic living sculpture, a mindful shared meditative practice, deep relaxation for flexibility of mind and body, expression of power exchange, and intimate erotic restraint.

Once again Dissident has created an environment for a surprising yet potent creative collaboration and produced works that are formal, radical and inspiring.