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Louis Henderson: An Interview

Video Data Bank

2015 01:22:55 United StatesEnglishColorStereo16:9HD video

Description

Louis Henderson’s work focuses on anti-colonialism and criticizing the neocolonialisation of cyberspace.  Born in England in 1983, he graduated from London College of Communication and Le Fresnoy - Studio national des arts contemporains. He recently finished a post-diplôme at the European School of Visual Arts.

In speaking about his interest in anti-colonialism, Henderson ties it to his familial history of archaeological studies and practice in South Africa. He discusses how his films are very much influenced by Deleuze’s theory of cinema as archaeology. With poignant imagery overlaid with text and voiceover, Henderson seeks to uncover the stories of political struggles buried within this imagery. In his films All That is Solid and Lettres Du Voyant, he examines the practice whereby young Ghanian men “mine” discarded computers for precious metals. He links this practice to neocolonialism. Henderson considers the Internet or the Cloud in much the same way: An archeological site imposed by the Europeans whose pastiche can be “mined for gold” or rather reappropriated to make capital.

Louis Henderson is inteviewed by Director of Video Data Bank, Abina Manning.

The Video Data Bank is the leading resource in the United States for videotapes by and about contemporary artists. The VDB collection features innovative video work made by artists from an aesthetic, political or personal point of view. The collection includes seminal works that, seen as a whole, describe the development of video as an art form originating in the late 1960's and continuing to the present. Works in the collection employ innovative uses of form and technology, mixed with original visual style to address contemporary art and cultural themes.

Founded in 1976 at the inception of the media arts movement in the United States, the Video Data Bank is one of the nation's largest providers of alternative and art-based video. Through a successful national and international distribution service, the VDB distributes video art, documentaries made by artists, and recorded interviews with visual artists, photographers and critics.