''Flex'' is a 2000

video installation Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has ...

by the British

video artist Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. ...

Chris Cunningham Chris Cunningham (born 15 October 1970) is an English video artist and music video director who directed music videos for electronic musicians such as Autechre, Squarepusher, and Aphex Twin and Björk. Early in his career he worked as a com ...

. It consists of a 15-minute film loop that endlessly depicts a naked man and woman floating in darkness, who by turns embrace and furiously beat one another, culminating in an act of

anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse principally means the insertion and pelvic thrusting, thrusting of the Erection, erect human penis, penis into a person's Human anus, anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex inform ...

during which they disappear in a blast of light. The film is set to an electronic soundtrack by

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

. It was first displayed to the public in 2000 as part of the ''Apocalypse: Beauty and Horror in Contemporary Art'' exhibition at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, and subsequently at the

Anthony d'Offay Gallery Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants ...

and other art galleries. It was given an 18 certificate by the

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works (su ...

, with no cuts from its original form. A 3.5-minute excerpt of the 17-minute film was released on the DVD '' The Work of Director Chris Cunningham''. It was also re-edited for the back-drop screen projection during Madonna's performance of " Frozen" during her

Re-Invention World Tour The Re-Invention World Tour (billed as Re-Invention World Tour 2004) was the sixth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her ninth studio album, ''American Life'' (2003). It began on May 24, 2004, at the Forum in Ingle ...

. The man and woman are depicted by combining the performances of a number of performers and body doubles, including actors Jon and Jo Hadfield, and dancers Rob Tannion and Desiree Kongerod. archived at the Internet Archive Post-production work was done at

Glassworks Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container p ...

and the Moving Picture Company.

References

External links

Anthon d'Offay Gallery press release

Review in CIRCA art magazine, featuring stills from the film loop
* Music videos directed by Chris Cunningham 2000 films 2000 short films British avant-garde and experimental short films 2000s English-language films English-language short films {{short-film-stub