Witness a mutant William S. Burroughs-style report on the emergence of a new kind of media parasite, with sound by Philip Brophy (Body Melt).
Worm Pornography (2024) was made during Melbourne’s COVID-19 lockdown and is set against the backdrop of daily reports of infection rates, and media saturation of viruses, contagion and conspiracy theories.
A hazmat-suited researcher known as “the slime narrator” has locked himself in a public bathroom to report on the discovery of a new kind of parasite that attempts to complete its life cycle within various contemporary media platforms.
We soon get the sense that our narrator may be losing his mind or has been infected by the parasite as he veers from topics such as virtual reality worm simulations, to our symbiotic relationship to 7-Elevens, AI censorship, slime TV game shows, parasite pornography and mutant YouTube cat videos.
Director Ian Haig will introduce the film and participate in a post-screening conversation hosted by Joel Stern.
About Art+Film
ACMI's ART+FILM program showcases short and feature-length films by leading Australian and international artists. With a focus on single-channel works that harness the unique conventions of cinema, the program comprises internationally significant works from the ever-expanding field of artist films.
About Ian Haig
Ian Haig works across media, from video, sculpture, drawing, technology-based media, mutant AI and installation. Haig’s practice refuses to accept that the low and the base level are devoid of value and cultural meaning. His body obsessed themes can be seen throughout a large body of work over the last thirty years. Previous works have looked to the contemporary media sphere and its relationship to the visceral body, the degenerative aspects of pervasive new technologies, to cultural forms of fanaticism and cults, to ideas of attraction and repulsion.
Joel Stern
Joel Stern is a researcher, curator, and artist living in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. Informed by a background in experimental music and sonic art, Stern's work focuses on how practices of sound and listening inform and shape our contemporary worlds.
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