In HYPERBALLAD (Blue), Wesley John Fourie reflects on the finality of the end of a relationship. Filmed in the artist's studio after the couple's last encounter, they perform to the song Blue by Marina and the Diamonds. Speaking to the lyrics of the song, "just give me one more night, one last goodbye", the work is a tribute to the relationship as well as a moment to let go of the past.
Part of the series HYPERBALLAD (2023-24).
HYPERBALLAD is a video-based body of work by Wesley John Fourie that references their study of narcissism in psychoanalysis as well as the classical myth of Narcissus, reimagined through contemporary internet culture and pop music. These performances to camera are shot in the artist’s studio in Ōtepoti, and use available objects (hammers, scissors, wine bottles, bananas, coffee jars, etc.) as stunt microphones to sing along to love songs dedicated to someone (or 'something')—both real and abstract—on the other side of the screen. Part cathartic rambling, part karaoke goodness, Fourie takes on the role of the jester, the popstar, or anyone seeking their twenty minutes of fame. They invite us into a manufactured world of vulnerability, where the trope of the tortured artist in the studio meets Tumblr girl-style confessional. Considering the online realm as a platform for storytelling, these works also possess a more sinister quality, exploring the potential for heartfelt honesty to slip into self-exposure and voyeurism.
