Book Review: Doug Aitken’s “Black Mirror”

Chloë Sevigny performs in Aitken’s world-weary art installation

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Chloë Sevigny spent her summer performing in a somber art installation alongside pole strippers and tap dancers on a flat-bottomed barge cruising at sunset off the Greek island of Hydra. This sounds like it could be one of the gags from a recent series of YouTube videos parodying the actress’ flair for artsy jet-setting, idiosyncratic fashions, and odd enunciation, but it’s recently come to our atten-shun that it’s for real. The talented Ms. Sevigny did all this and more.

The new book Black Mirror documents the art installation of the same name by artist Doug Aitken for the Deste Foundation of Athens, Greece, which owns an evocative former slaughterhouse on the island of Hydra. Each summer for the past three years the foundation has commissioned a major contemporary artist to create a large site-specific installation for the expansive warehouse-style space (the first was a joint project by Matthew Barney and Elizabeth Peyton, followed by sculpture installation by Matthew Cattelan). Video artist Aitken created a film which was projected and reflected on a kaleidoscope of black mirrors inside the slaughterhouse and also a live performance on a barge floating outside. Both the film and performance featured Sevigny playing a rootless character who drifts through an anonymous and disorienting anywhere-world of cruddy hotels, airport security lines, pharmacy drug counters, car rental agencies, satellite dishes and droning airplanes. In addition to the installation and book, the project is also a website.