ABOUT
Paul McCarthy’s Virtual Reality artwork is based on the artist’s long-term project, “Coach Stage Stage Coach”, (“CSSC”). Encompassing a wide range of different media, the project includes a new film, inspired by John Ford’s Western of the same title from 1939, starring John Wayne. Taking the form of a spin-off, a phenomenon associated with the entertainment industry, the Virtual Reality work builds on a scene from the film by the artist, involving the two characters, Mary (played by Rachel Alig) and Eve (played by Jennifer Daley). Caught in the claustrophobia of constant surveillance by the two women and their doubles, the viewer becomes part of a vicious mind game. All social conventions break down as the plot unfolds and escalates into a psychosexual trip of rape and humiliation.