LADA Screens: Martin O’Brien – The Unwell (and Book Launch)

Martin's very own version of a zombie film was commissioned in 2015 by City Arcadia and made in collaboration with Suhail Ilyas. The Unwell takes us into an apocalyptic landscape inhabited only by strange, coughing bodies, and is part of Martin’s ongoing exploration of the figure of the zombie as a metaphor for the sick body.

“This used to be the most optimistic city in the world. Now it’s full of darkness illuminated by the fading street lamps….. This city used to be our future but now the future belongs to the unwell”.

The event will also mark the launch of the LADA publication Survival of the Sickest, the art of Martin O’Brien. This is the first book bringing together writing and documentation on Martin O’Brien and marks ten years of his work. It includes photographs and essays by philosophers, performance scholars and art historians including Alphonso Lingus and Amelia Jones.

Martin O'Brien

Martin O’Brien is best known for his long durational solo performances and collaborations with the pioneering body artists Sheree Rose. His work draws upon his experience of suffering from cystic fibrosis. His performance and video art is concerned with physical endurance, disgust long durations and pain base practices in order to address a politics of the sick, queer body and examine what it means to be born with a life threatening disease, politically and philosophically.