Hedi Slimane has elevated the narrative of the street to vertigo inducing height for some time. But this moment is his most thrilling correspondence with the cause yet, as 89 digital billboards refract Slimane's photographs back to Los Angeles
Hedi Slimane has elevated the narrative of the street to vertigo inducing height for some time. But this moment is his most thrilling correspondence with the cause yet, as 89 digital billboards refract Slimane's photographs back to Los Angeles boulevards and strips for a two month period – a real-life incarnate of his philosophy where life and stage collide.
The billboards are a pendant project to Slimane's simultaneous show at MOCA Pacific Design Center, California Song; the first archival exhibit of his ongoing California cycle, following charged documentary of Berlin and London in the past and the moment where their cults, characters and creative underground burned gloriously to encapsulate the spirit of the time.
A hedonistic purity permates his work; adolescent grace, its passions and silhouettes. From skaters at the birthplace of skateboarding, the West Coast; to gig goers – the romantic nobility of fandom – and charismatic outsiders, the exhibition celebrates the mood of contemporary California through Hedi’s handwriting: fragmented portraiture and the notion of live (moving image) reduced to archaic sequentialisms.
"Hedi Slimane has created a new way to be an artist, fusing photography, design, music and an aesthetic narrative. Articulating a vision of contemporary life that emerges from youth and underground culture, he has a remarkable instinct to find the most interesting cultural innovations."
The latter is seen at the exhibit in a motion photography installation, colliding audio with visuals, as Cali bands such as No Age and Ariel Pink contribute extended soundtracks that riff in tandem with the artist’s images. A stage area, integral to the imprint of the show, is an open tribute to performance.
“Hedi Slimane is one of the most significant people shaping contemporary culture,” says MOCA director, Jeffrey Deitch. “He has created a new way to be an artist, fusing photography, design, music and an aesthetic narrative. Articulating a vision of contemporary life that emerges from youth and underground culture, he has a remarkable instinct to find the most interesting cultural innovations. Like David Hockney, Hedi looks at California from the fresh perspective of a European, being able to articulate a particular strain of alternative culture at the foundation of much of the most compelling new art, music, design, film and literature.”
Hedi Slimane: California Song runs from November 12 2011–January 22 2012 at MOCA Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA 90069.
Suggested Reading: Hedi Slimane's work also features in the latest issue of AnOther Man.
Text by Dean Mayo Davies
