How precious innocence gets exchanged for the curse of experience is the focus of British artist Matt Copson’s laser-projected libretta, Coming of Age (2021). Filtered through actions of an ever-growing, demanding baby, its electronic beeps and piercing soprano is an arresting of Kid A-era Radiohead and Oliver! the musical.
You can’t quite decide if it’s really good, wants to be thought of as good, or is a load of contrived nonsense.
The baby is a disturbing little thing: full of greed, creativity, jealousy and curiosity – at one point it’s both creator and destroyer, birthing then destroying its baby companion. Seemingly both repelled and intrigued by the world it’s been plunged into, it becomes hellbent on devouring it, carefully folding back the wings of a plane to slide it grotesquely into its waiting mouth.
Overall, it’s a disquieting coming-of-age story, laced with grim humour and a touch of Nietzschean ruthlessness. Watching it, shoeless to lie on KW’s large square of artificial carpet, you can’t quite decide if it’s really good, wants to be thought of as good, or is a load of contrived nonsense.
But it remains compellingly ambiguous and its mix of deadpan incidentalness and operatic weight at least achieves the aura of great performance art. And at times it feels quite the achievement.
- KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Auguststr. 69, Mitte, through May 4, details.
