Douglas Gordon

In a series of black and white photographic portraits of film divas from the 1950s and 60s, Gordon has cut out the eyes and replaced them with black or white cardboard and sometimes mirrors. This gives the photographs a new and hypnotic appearance. The film stars’ self-conceited gazes are replaced by emptiness and unease.

In the video installation from 1995 Gordon uses director John Ford’s old western film “The Searcher” from 1956. Gordon has manipulated and greatly expanded the film so that it lasts as long as the period depicted - five years! The result is a western film in extreme slow motion. Accentuating the clichés but permitting the beauty of the cinematography to emerge, it allows us to experience a well-known film genre in completely new ways.