Total Recall, 1987

Basel 2016
Total Recall

Metro Pictures

Video/Film
8-channel video on 24 monitors and 3 rear-projection screens, transferred from video tape and 16mm film, color, sound; 18’ 2”; edition of 5
A monumental 24-monitor multi-projection screen installation, Total Recall explores the accelerated image-flow of television and exemplifies Gretchen Bender’s concept of ‘electronic theatre,’ in which she aimed to infiltrate the corporate domain of mass media representation by overloading the viewer with information. Combining stacked monitors and an aggressive barrage of edited footage – of Cold War-era military hardware, animated corporate logos, Hollywood film iconography, and commercials for consumer recording devices – the work provides a mesmerizing critique of the violence and commoditization of images in society.