top of page

Phil Collins

BECOMING MORE LIKE US

October 18 | November 30, 2002

Phil Collins shows in Becoming more like us two projects realized in a different time-span but connected to each other. The photoworks of the series” Becoming more photo like us “, that gives the title to the exhibition, are images of young Serbian boys represented by the intentional lack of staging and, at first glance, naïf. In this way, Phil Collins is deconstructing our collective perception of the world that surrounds us out there and is putting in crisis the dominant media stereotypes , creating a space of intense reflection on individual’s beauty and vulnerability. In the video I feel love, projected on different monitors, the young Iraqi are shooted sitting in front an amateur but persistent video camera, not knowing what to do. It is precisely by the childlish use of the video camera, simply collecting bits of real, Phil Collins invites us to observe the world around outside the prejudices.

“...It is precisely by the non-sexy representation, by the childish use of the camera and by the total lack of staging the subject that this provocation is raised. By this naïve use of the medium, Collins is thus deconstructing an entire narrative of our collective perception of the world that surrounds us out there. The artist is not staging anything. He seems to be floating around with a crappy camera, simply collecting bits of real, and rudely introducing them in front of us. At first he is illusively pleasing our ego. Then he's putting it into crisis. Yes, "Becoming more like us" - the crisis of the ego...”  

 

The Crisis of the Ego by Edi Muka

bottom of page