Tony Oursler + St Roch Collaboration

For KKProjects’ New Orleans Biennial exhibition, Tony Oursler collaborated with St Roch neighbors to create film projections at three locations; a brickyard, a warehouse, and a tree.

Directing remotely via cell phone, Oursler read poetry in a variety of (rather comical) pitches, which are chorused by the neighbors. The session was recorded by documentary filmmaker Rebecca Snedeker in the remnants of Kysa Johnson’s installation in Double Shotgun.

This first day of filming ended in Mutiny when the group of boys (pictured above) usurped Oursler’s poetry, transforming “Wonderful World Spin Round”, to “Wonderful girl, come round”, a singing performance which eventually erupted into “Beautiful Girl, Come on Girl”, accompanied by an elaborate stomping/clapping performance (also captured by Snedeker).

Oursler and the neighbors, then quite familiar by voice, met in person for a second session upon his return for a site visit. This visit included the neighborhood girls dancing (and rapping) to the music of a live harp.

Selection of Words:

mud mud mud brick mud mud mud brick mud mud mud
drip drop clock stop splash trash crash cash
water water wander everywhere

Bone God: say it with a brick
swirl twirl whirl swirl twirl whirl swirl twirl whirl

click here click there click click everywhere
Play: I'm the bad guy.. wait ... don't... do it to me like that...

9 lives, still in the dark, second life, 3 wishes, wash away one chance
Oh no, stream of negative charges pour down
wonderful world spin round

Play: Sticking leeches on myself
going up down me down round round you higher higher
floating I'm floating I'm floating floating floating away away away

play: you be a good person, OK OK we need a few of them around around around
calm I'm very calm calm
off, we don't want to know, turn it off
Play: follow the money money money

trick out landscape escape wait for me, I'm a real person
stumbling block unlock brick one on top of the other up up
Play consciousness experimentation