Dave McKenzie: This is A Body
In association with its pre-launch programming, Remai Modern invited artists to realize original projects exclusively for online viewing. Through these commissions, the museum considered its website as an extension of its physical space and onsite program. Mobile and experimental, this online gallery allowed for direct, personal encounters with art while connecting artists and audiences across the globe.
From 2016-2020, the museum presented projects by: Ryan Gander, Tammi Campbell, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Thomas Hirschhorn, Taysir Batniji, Pedro Barateiro, Kara Uzleman, Rosa Barba, Amanda Beech, Ellen Moffat, Duane Linklater, Lynne Marsh, Raqs Media Collective, Ahlam Shibli, Ann Lislegaard, Anton Vidokly, Dave McKenzie, Laakkuluk Williamson-Bathory and Kelly Nipper.
This is a Body is a room. The room is a text, and this text unfolds as you, the player, move through it. Explore both levels using the mouse to look and the W, A, S, and D keys to navigate and learn about a worker and his lunch.
Dave McKenzie works across media including video, performance and text. Drawing from popular culture, language, and politics, he uses simple gestures to reveal complex layers of meaning. McKenzie’s work, commissioned specifically for the Remai Modern website, continues his exploration of how and why subjects engage-with and become-with one another. McKenzie is the recipient of a United States Artist Fellowship Award (2009) and was a fellow at the American Academy in Rome (2014-2015). He received a BFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and has taught and lectured at several colleges and universities throughout the United States. McKenzie teaches at Bard College in the Studio Arts department, and also serves as a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts, New York.