Level 9
Certified original film prop: District 9 (2009), cleat nails, nails, screws, epoxy
270 x 510 x 1100 mm
2011
Private collection
The sculptures Private grammar (2011) and Level 9 (2011) share a point of origin as props featured in MacGarry’s short film Race of Man (2011).
Following their inclusion in the production of the film the props were reconfigured and all included, along with Race of Man, on the exhibition Entertainment (2011) at Stevenson, Johannesburg.
Level 9, Private grammar, Race of Man
Private Grammar I
Certified original film prop: District 9 (2009), cleat nails, nails, screws, epoxy
210 x 460 x 1350 mm
2011
Private collection
Race of Man
HD video
12 minutes 30 seconds
Colour, stereo, 25 fps, PAL
2011
Edition 5 +2 A.P.
"Race of Man is a parody of the immersive video game, the film follows players killing each other to advance to each next level. MacGarry locates two of these gaming levels in a desert and an unspecified white room. Our own uncertainty about these real and virtual worlds is reiterated when the first two players show an unwillingness to actually kill each other. Their collusion against the game’s rules advances them to the next level. But here the two players are unable to escape the prospect of facing each other again. Blinded by bags over their heads, separately tied to the same pole and wielding axes, they eventually stumble into each other with gruesome consequences.
The parody rests in part with the players’ naïve levity at being apparently unaffected individuals within a virtual game world. Race of Man probes this chaffing between fantasies and the future, as well as real and imaginary encounters. The film’s excellent production values — including sparse camerawork, sharp editing and a decisive narrative—contribute to making this comic imitation of the video game more an unsettling farce than funny ha ha."
- Rory Bester, 2011