Artist Sarah Morris’s latest film Beijing
![Portrait of a city](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/u9EgGtuihjVkXz6GwgAhH9-415-80.jpg)
Famed since the 1990s for her architecturally themed films as well as colourful, geometric abstract painting, it makes sense that the Architecture Foundation has teamed up with UK-born artist Sarah Morris (her strong graphic art was featured on Wallpaper's April 2009, W*121 cover) for the UK premiere of her new film, Beijing.
For her latest portrait of a city, Sarah Morris has moved beyond the metropolitan inner circles of her native America: the Hollywood in-crowd she probed in her film Los Angeles or the Big Apple’s human traffic of Mid Town to tackle that brave new frontier of commerce and global spectacle, Beijing.
Shot during the 2008 Olympics, Morris’s behind-the-scenes camera captures flexing muscles, acrobatic feats, neon floorshows and elaborate costumes. Herzog and de Meuron’s Bird's Nest Stadium is filmed in what seems an eternal loop as her car patrols its glass surround. Yet Beijing is more than buildings.
Set to a zingy electronica score by the artist’s partner Liam Gillick, the film depicts an ever-changing constellation of people, media, and shopping. Sushi is guzzled, money changes hands, a man and a pretty girl row, a Panda gives birth, star turns like Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaus and Jackie Chan are faces in the crowd. For the most part though, whatever stories lurk behind these images, they're lost to Western eyes. As with the polished glass cabinets of department stores or skyscrapers' mirrored fronts, all is surface.
If this urban cavalcade sounds familiar that's the point. With Olympic marvels shown through TV footage as well as her own material, Morris reveals Beijing as an endless spectacle on repeat. It loops around and around like the struts of the Bird's Nest or the vast ring road that envelops the city.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published