Screening - ‘Silver Heads’ (1999) by Yevgeny Yufit and Vladimir Maslov

Yevgeny Yufit and Vladimir Maslov's Silver Heads (1999) is a striking example of necrorealism—a movement in Russian nonconformist cinema and art of the 1980s and 1990s focused on the aesthetics of death and decay. A group of scientists venture into the woods to conduct a secret experiment, aiming to crossbreed a human with a tree, hoping to create a hybrid human that is long-lived, low-maintenance, and resistant to hostile environments. The scientists conduct the experiment on themselves. Contrary to their expectations, however, the forest is not entirely deserted. It is inhabited by strange creatures left behind after a previous experiment.
Silver Heads plunges into the grotesque heart of human ambition and warns against dreams of perfection. It is screened to complement Erika Scott's exhibition Cambium Itch, named for the plant tissue layer from which cells differentiate into structures that transport nutrients and water—and whose interruption means death. Drawing on necrorealism's absurdity, Scott penetrates the woody walls of the IMA to tap into its cambium layer, scratching a subdermal itch.
Silver Heads will be introduced by Madeline Brewer, IMA Manager Public Programs and Education. Spaces limited. Booking recommended.
82 minutes. English subtitles.