ICA

Wendy L. Gibson
Prof. Editing
October 01, 2007

“We were all fish once…”

Dave(not David) McKenzie’s Momentum 8 is a unique piece of modern art; combining real life elements with digital elements- using dolls, birds, fish and more. McKenzie, a thirty year old artist born in Kingston, Jamaica received his degree from the University of the Arts in Pennsylvania; he also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. His well rounded background shows in his work as we watch the wide black screen. A man is falling, falling, falling, and in the blink of an eye man (played by McKenzie) becomes doll. “Have you ever fallen in a dream?” McKenzie uses a voice over to ask this question a powerful statement as we soon discovered. McKenzie uses mostly text to express communication throughout his masterpiece, creating a silence that is almost uncomfortable. When text is displayed it is a relief, when we hear a voice it is bone-tingling . He blends the borders between reality and fantasy, dreaming and waking. McKenzie evokes a strong need to question reality, almost leaving the viewer with no choice as Sponge Bob Square Pants floats through the sky and the Andy Warhol doll sings about his desire to be a gold fish. As the reel progresses McKenzie continues to switch between himself and his alter ego “Herny,” a small plastic doll version of himself. He asks early on in the clip with another voice over, “Have you ever heard the story about the runner?” Ten minutes later we have pretty much forgotten about the runner until another voice over “Remember the runner?…He’s dead.” The impact of the words are jarring. McKenzie keeps you on your toes, trying to define what is going on. This traveled artist has had his work exhibited widely through New York, with exhibits also in L.A. and Chicago, Momentum 8 is not only his first showing in Boston but also his first solo exhibit.