An exhibition of eight video artworks,
each of which subjects a particular song to a wild but discerning transformation.The Stairway at St. Paul's
Jeroen Offerman
Netherlands, single channel video (2002)
For three months, Offerman practiced singing the inverted phonetics of Led Zeppelin's most famous song, Stairway to Heaven. He then set himself up on the steps of St. Paul's cathedral in London and performed and recorded the song in a single take. Played in reverse against an instrumental karaoke track, the song sounds familiar yet oddly so. The performer’s surroundings seem positively surreal.
The video's conceit rests on the idea that satantic messages could be hear in the music of bands like Led Zeppelin, the Beatles or Judas Priest when their records were played backward. While often dismissed as part of an anti-rock hysteria, Offerman's exploration of the song subtly brings to the surface the weirdly attractive menace that characterizes some rock music.
Jeroen Offerman was born in Eindhoven and currently lives and works in London and Berlin. His work comprises installations, sculpture and performances. He received a BA in Fine Art at Akademie St. Joost, Breda, and an MA from London's Goldsmiths College in 1998.His work has been exhibited at Museum Witte de With (Rotterdam), the Louvre, (Paris), Fact, Foundation for Art & Creative Technology (Liverpool) as well as at galleries in Jakarta, Moscow and Tokyo. He is currently gold-plating wildflowers and weeds.
Jeroen Offerman onlinewww.foldgallery.com/index.php?title=Jeroen_Offermanwww.montevideo.nl/en/jeffmilner.com/backmasking.htm