Special Afflictions by Roy Harryhozen combines live action and animation and is a surreal meditation on man’s hopeless relationship with his own consciousness. Bonnie Camplin’s film is inspired by the British horror film of the 1970’s The Mutations (dir Jack Cardiff, 1973) and a homage to the creator of animated special effects Ray Harryhausen.
Special Afflictions by Roy Harryhozen presents four hapless sideshow features gossiping about their employer and ‘creator’ Roy Harryhozen who has altered them each with a ‘special effect‘ which has gone wrong and left each with an abject temporal affliction. The notions of ‘effect’ and ‘affliction‘ have become confused for one person’s (Roy ‘s) ‘vision’ resulting in the wretched condition of his subjects.
About the artist
Bonnie Camplin (b. 1970) is a British artist based in London.
Previous videos such as My Name Is Ko Ko (2002); Hallo Hero (2003) and Good Health (2003) established Camplin’s visual and linguistic register of cut-and-paste love stories told with the lucidity of a valium hangover. After The Power Cut (2004), a film and live music performance, uses ‘blackout’ to present a critical observation of the schism undermining linguistic communication. Camplin’s work utilizes a range of low-budget film and music techniques, and is preoccupied with rituals, belief systems, the detritus of popular culture and self—mythologizing autobiography featuring a personal theatre of friends and associates.
Recent exhibitions include A Meeting at Conway Hall, Conway Hall, commissioned by Book Works, London (2004) and The Best Book About Pessimism I Ever Read Kuntsverein, Braunschweig (2002). Camplin is a member of the group Donateller with Mark Leckey and Ed Laliq and has recently released a solo LP of her experimental music Heavy Epic LP featured in Dan Fox’s end of year round up ‘Music 2005’ frieze. She is currently collaborating on a short film with Paul ina Olowska to be shown at Weils Contemporary Art Center, Brussels.
This Frieze Projects/LUX commission is Camplin’s first 35mm film production.
