Narcissism is the thematic superstructure of the video installation I Need A Break From Shining, presented as a collaboration between the multimedia artist duo Schall & Schnabel and the audio visual artist Lucas Gutierrez. The looped video work, featuring muse Darwin Stapel, focuses on dealing with the everyday phenomenon of narcissism, as well as the pathological excesses of an exaggerated self-awareness.
Inspired by their personal environment in the creative industry as well as the changes caused by handling of new technologies and social media and their feedback on the social behavior are integrated into the video installation. Disturbances of proximity and distance, in- and outside world, “Me” and “You” are reflected in the work through disturbances of the narrative elements, the image, through absurd turns and instructions.
We showed the short film in our container at the Reeperbahn Festival 2017. And of course we invited the artist duo to come by for a glass… sorry, some glasses of wine. What a relaxing evening.