Mario Pfeifer’s artistic practice is expressed in filmic works and video installations, by means of which he sheds light on representational systems and socio-political backgrounds from a number of different cultures. His works relate to specific questions about society, the wider contexts of which he explores and documents through extensive local research. At the same time the musical and acoustic dimensions of his works assume a special role, being frequently closely linked to the works’ thematic and visual aspects.
#blacktivist
Mario Pfeifer’s video work #blacktivist, realized in 2015, consists of two linked parts that address current forms of violence, how they are represented in the media, and their legitimization by society. The first takes the form of a music video for the song “Blacktivist” by the Brooklyn based rap group Flatbush ZOMBIES. Using documentary film material from the body cameras of police officers, found footage and 3D animations, the video offers a multilayered analysis of the zeitgeist, focusing among other things on racially motivated police attacks in the USA, the pop-cultural stylization of violence and the international “Global War On Terrorism.” Alongside interviews with the Flatbush ZOMBIES about what prompted the song, the second part also features a short documentary about a workshop held by the US organization Defense Distributed, which published the first model of a pistol based on 3D printing in 2013 on the internet. Because they are easy to reproduce, such “Wiki Weapons” since then made it possible for the general public to legally come into the possession of an unregistered weapon.