Chris Cunningham has staged the world’s first “Laser Fueled Robo-Sex Ballet,” Jaqapparatus1.  He began his career sculpting prosthetics, contributing to films like Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, and A.I.  He went on to redefine MTV in the 1990s, creating seminal music videos for Bjork, Madonna, and Aphex Twin.  After realizing that creating music videos for other artist’s music could be incredibly limiting, Cunningham began creating his music and accompanying videos, employing all the tricks of the trade he had mastered while working in the special effects industry, an effort which culminated in a series of live audio-visual performances in Japan and Europe.  His first installation, Jaqapparatus1, is currently on exhibition at Audi City London.  Two laser-firing robots engage in a brutal, almost sexual dance on a shadowy, sci-fi set.  Comprised of two Talos motion-controlled camera rigs, Cunningham mounted powerful lasers which the robots use to “attack, repel, and communicate with each other, a kind of duel, a surreal mating display which sees each machine trying to dominate the other.”  Watch the video below for a glimpse of the Robo-Sex Ballet.

VIDEO:  Jaqappartus1 for Audi City London

-Jayme Catalano