Douglas Gordon

Turner Prize winner Douglas Gordon (b. 1966 in Glasgow) is one of the most important and influential artists of his generation. Drawing upon literature, folklore and Hollywood classics, he investigates collective memory and the perception of the self. In works that cross the boundaries between mediums, Gordon examines the human condition and shows how innocence and guilt, life and death, good and evil often lie close together. He rose to prominence above all with his manipulation of found footage, which he alters by means of small but effective interventions. Moving images are frozen, speeded up or slowed down in order to emphasize memory and temporality. The neon work 24 Hour Sunset also shows us time, or more accurately the distortion and compression of time. It announces itself as something almost utopian: a boldly conceived thought experiment that arouses powerful emotions. In the play with consciousness and reality, Gordon is interested in "how perception builds up and how it collapses." Particularly as this very fragility allows something new and different to arise. Also on view at the Summer Night's Gala are Gordon's iconic video installations. Pretty much every film and video work from about 1992 until now, new neon works, and an immersive installation that the artist has created especially for the Fondation Beyeler.