Bullpit

Bullpit

2017
Video-loop, 11:00 min, silent

In Bullpit you can see a pogoing group of policemen in riot police uniform. It is unclear in which context the scene takes place. It oscillates between a brutal clash and the silly scramble of little boys. Slapsticism and aggressiveness go hand in hand. The slow motion makes the movements seem dance-like, even tender. Violence is replaced by play, the street battle is replaced by a loving brawl. The police as guardians of security act in an irrational act of excess. The whole thing is a border crossing that contradicts the determination of the police officers as guardians of law and order. The video suggests a utopia in which state power has become obsolete and is only directed against itself. Demonstrators fighting policemen are familiar images. A strange image are policemen who fight against policemen, the opponent is himself. In BULLPIT the horizon forms the borderline between violence and lust.

Moritz Stumm is a German artist and label operator. Power and violence as well as their iconographies and rituals are often subjects of his oeuvre. His artistic activities range from video works, installations, objects, ink drawings to audio-visual performances. In his work he combines found footage, staged material and digital animation and interweaves them into narratives with a striking aesthetic.

Together with Cyrill Lachauer he founded the label „Flippig the Coin Records“ in 2011 and since then has been its co-operator publishing musical-auditory work of visual artists. He also works as a musician and music video director.