Wesley John Fourie's HYPERBALLADS reimagine the classical myth of Narcissus through contemporary internet culture and pop music. These performances-to-camera are shot on phone or laptop in the artist’s studio in Ōtepoti, and use things to hand (hammers, scissors, bananas, wine bottles, coffee jars) as stunt microphones to sing along to love songs dedicated to someone (or ‘something’) both real and abstracted on the other side of the screen. Part cathartic rambling, part karaoke goodness, Fourie takes on the role of the jester, the popstar, anyone seeking their fifteen minutes of fame. The videos invite us into a manufactured world of vulnerability, where the cliché of the tortured artist-in-the-studio meets Tumblr Girl style confessionalism, set against a pop music beat.
Here Fourie's project moves from private to public space via the Wellington City Council's Courtenay Place Lightboxes. Individual stills from multiple videos are splayed across the eight lightboxes. Fourie’s avatars are caught mid-performance (though silenced), larger-than-life, and locking eyes with the viewer in a show of both swagger and emotional vulnerability. They act as guides or cautionary tales for the denizens of 'the party precinct' of Pōneke — a strip of bars, clubs, and karaoke booths where we go to let loose, find love, and perform one’s best (or worst) self. Fourie connects the digital realm to this physical site as spaces where people go to look and be looked at, where human connections are forged and broken, and where everyone is part of a collective experience but also ultimately alone. These videos are deeply personal expressions of the queer experience and the human condition in the digital age.
This project is presented in partnership with the Wellington City Council. It is part of City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi's commitment to bringing art and exhibitions to Pōneke while the gallery building is temporarily closed. The gallery sees something of itself in Fourie's desire to reach out, connect and be loved at a time of difficulty.
Fourie's work will be 'going viral' in Pōneke over this period. In addition to the lightboxes, their videos will be presented as part of Mason's Screen, a public art project run by CIRCUIT Artist Moving Image, and supported by the Wellington City Council. Fourie will also feature in the Dowse Art Museum's horror-themed exhibition THE BROOD, curated by Curator of Screams (Dowse Senior Curator Chelsea Nichols and City Gallery Senior Curator Aaron Lister). Fourie’s HYPERBALLAD made for this exhibition mirrors a performance-to-camera from a classic horror film — one that has demanded they acquire some new and very distinctive tattoos.
