Human Beans no.1 Photograph

Marty St. James is known as a pioneer of the framed video portrait and works in a range of contemporary media including performance art, photography, digital video and drawings. He lives and works in London and France. His best-known work is the The Swimmer, a multi-screen installation in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London. In 2000, his video work Boy Girl was presented in the benchmark exhibition with master artists from each year of the 20th century at National Portrait Gallery. St James’ performative and sculptural video work acknowledges portraiture’s function as a ‘map’ of our relationship with ourselves and the wider world. The intimate, human-focus of his art can be interpreted as a theoretical reflection of the contemporary person existing under the influence of modern technological systems that are affecting human consciousness. St James has travelled the world and has held artist-in-residence commissions in Russia, China, Australia and Antarctica, where he has found a deeper understanding of humanity for his own art practice. He has encountered profound meaning in the indigenous people’s art beliefs and rituals in America and Australia that has influenced his work. His digital prints and video art work Oneiric reference notions of 'Dreamtime', a belief common across cultures, that refers to time as a beginning that never ends and is a continuum of past, present and future. Nina Colosi, Director, Streaming Museum, New York City