Filmed from the artist’s window during lockdown, ‘Citadel’ combines short fragments from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s speeches relating to coronavirus with views of the London skyline. Recognising the British government’s decision to place business interests before public health, the film relocates the centre of power from Parliament to the financial district of the City of London. Perceiving the city as a site of both horror and aesthetic beauty, the film documents the dramatic effects of changing light conditions upon its architecture. Shifting its focus from the city’s gleaming skyscrapers to the inhabitants of the dense urban housing that lies in their shadow, ‘Citadel’ contrasts faceless corporate power with individual lived experience.
Commissioned by Steirischer Herbst Festival, Graz.
