A gigantic inflatable Felix the Cat is taking over part of Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery for a two-part exhibition showcasing the latest work from Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Leckey.
ZOO LOGIC and companion piece FEELINTHECAT will be on display at the gallery between 9 September and 26 February next year, and we caught up with their Birkenhead-born creator to discuss his influences, the role of technology in contemporary art and his obsession with a cat called Felix.
Why did you choose Felix the Cat as the focal point of your latest projects?
Felix the Cat was the first electronic ever broadcast on television in America and my obsession with the character stems from that. That’s why the exhibition portrays him at this massive scale, because he’s like the god of TV for me.
Felix is a fairly modern figure but when you look at him at this scale he is more like a deity, or kind of like the Wicker Man or something. I’d describe it as techno paganism.
What does you think Felix brings to this particular space in the Walker, sitting beside Biblical-themed paintings depicting figures such as Christ?
Felix is as real to me as Christ or John Lennon. There’s something about having a cartoon character here in the flex, so to speak. It’s as though he is here as an observer. Wherever he is, I feel like I am and he is sort of here to represent me. He’s like my logo.
Mark Leckey’s Felix the Cat inspired work at the Walker.
What do you hope people will take away from the ZOO LOGIC exhibit?
It’s not an educational work or anything like that, it’s almost like an advert for its companion piece FEELINTHECAT in which visitors will enter a dome housing two video screens. They are showing footage of me pretending to be Felix the Cat, all done with CGI and motion capture.
This was inspired by a photo I saw of a Mickey Mouse actor at Disneyland. You can see through the mesh into his eyes – it’s a look that is somewhere between absolute humiliation and terror. I wanted to image what it’s like to become other than yourself, an animal or a cartoon animal.
You’re originally from Birkenhead. Have your roots in this region had an influence on your work?
I’m from over the water and Liverpool was way over there, so there was this sense that I wasn’t where the action was. I didn’t feel like I was at the centre of things and that led me to go to London and be more involved with things. I’m not sure whether this sounds entirely positive, but it’s influenced me in that respect.
There’s something about observing. As an artist you always feel a bit outside of thing, as though you’re somehow detached from the world around you. Being from Birkenhead with Liverpool across the water has instilled that in me.
You’re very active on YouTube. How much of a game changer has this platform been for video art?
All of these new technologies are capable of ushering in a paradigm shift and I think we’re still to see the full effects of YouTube on video art. The thing with YouTube is that it’s there for the non-professional but kind of eats into professionalism.
Everyone can now make a video or moving images. You ask me what Felix is and I’d say almost like a giant emoji – everyone speaks in images now and with YouTube everyone has the means of video production. This begs the question, why do you need a gallery for video art when it’s arguably the worst way to view footage? Most people are happy to watch on a screen at home.
I think that’s something to consider if you’re making videos and it very much applies to this exhibition. You’re trying to make something that’s 21st Century and put it into a 19th Century environment. They’re contrasting styles so you have to find ways of making that work.
So with FEELINTHECAT I’ve made a dome that people can wander into, instead of making a black box with a curtain where you go and sit down to watch a video.
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