Chris Cunningham

Chris Cunningham (born 1970 in Reading, Berkshire ) is a British film director, primarily for music videos, promotional clips, and video art. Before turning to video art, he was under the name Chris Halls as a comic artist for the British magazine 2000 AD active.

Cunningham is best known for his exceptional music videos, which are often characterized by surrealist motifs. His most important works include the following music videos:

• "Second Bad Vilbel " by Autechre
• " Only You " by Portishead
• " Africa Shox " by Leftfield
• " Come On My Selector " by Squarepusher
• "Frozen" by Madonna
• " All Is Full of Love" by Björk
• " Come to Daddy ", " Windowlicker ", " Flex", "Rubber Johnny" and "Monkey Drummer" by Aphex Twin
• " Sheena is a Parasite" by The Horrors

The resulting from the collaboration with Aphex Twin video installation " Flex" was exhibited in 2000 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Together with Aphex Twin, he also received the 1999 Prix Ars Electronica

In addition, he worked on the films Alien ³, Alien - with Rebirth and Judge Dredd, where he was mostly responsible for the special effects. In 2003, a collection of his works as a DVD entitled " The Work Of Director Chris Cunningham ".

From 26 March to 11 July 2004, the work of Cunningham were first in Germany with the solo exhibition " Chris Cunningham. Come To Daddy " shown at the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hanover. Accompanying the exhibition appeared in an eponymous catalog. In addition, an edition was issued, consisting of signed offset printing according to storyboard drawings for the video " All is Full of Love" by Björk and "Second Bad Vilbel " by Autechre.

In 2005 he published the short film "Rubber Johnny", originally only as a promotional video for the title of " Afx. 237 v.7 was planned "from the Aphex Twin album" Drukqs ". The film shows the life of a conceived by inbreeding and locked by his parents in a basement child. The misshapen Rubber Johnny moves in his wheelchair to the music, converting its shape. Although brilliant cut and technically perfectly implemented, the fully filmed by a night vision device film was received differently due to the macabre and disturbing images. The launch of the film had to be postponed because the printing of video booklet would boycott the production on moral grounds. The record company Warp Records therefore had to produce from another company Cunningham artwork eventually. Incidentally, not a real disabled has been filmed for the clip, Johnny was played by Chris Cunningham himself.

Chris Cunningham has been planning for a long time a film adaptation of the book Neuromancer by William Gibson. The work on this project, however, have been currently suspended until further notice.