Following the debut screening of my latest video piece at Disgraceland, Middlesbrough on the 13th of October I can now officially release/inflict ‘GRUNDER, HE WROTE’ upon everyone else!
GRUNDER, HE WROTE
2018
‘GRUNDER, HE WROTE’ is a commentary on today’s internet culture and the insertion of unsolicited lewd images forced upon us every day. In this video Walker-Tonks asks us to consider why we accept this as a consequence of using the internet as his ‘Avatar’ character bastardises the well-loved Television staple of ‘Murder, She Wrote’*. This unapologetic insertion acts as metaphor for the widespread plague of lewd and pornographic images that can be found in areas they should not exist.
Larry’s current practice explores issues surrounding dating apps like Grindr and Tinder and how, through a highly sexualised western culture, the sleaze is seeping through to our everyday lives and crossing boundaries it should not. Larry looks at how we present ourselves online, be it fabricating our day to day existence to impress our “friends” or hiding behind a blank profile looking for love. He raises awareness of the pressures put upon people to have unsafe sex and the idea of the unsolicited “dick pic” inviting the viewer to question why it is an accepted part of today’s culture. This manifests itself under the umbrella of ‘GRUNDER’, a series of tongue-in-cheek installations, grotesque sculptures and satirising large scale prints. Larry Walker-Tonks aims to highlight the immense pressure put upon social media users to drop their morals, standards and their pants with little regard for their own sexual health.
*This Video was uploaded on Angela Lansbury’s 93rd Birthday.
Pictured below is the Screening at Disgraceland, Middlesbrough.
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