Marvin Gaye Chetwynd: Home Made Tasers

We are proud to be presenting the work of Marvin Gaye Chetwynd at New Walk Museum & Art Gallery. This ground breaking work entitled Home Made Tasers enters the museum’s collection as both a sculptural piece and a performance.

The performance has been carefully rescored by the artist to enable it to become a part of a collection. The first time that one of her performances has become a part of a museum collection anywhere in the world. Marvin Gaye Chetwynd was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2013 and is one of the UK’s leading artists.

The work itself draws on the film Starship Troopers and the centre piece of the performance is a 4 meter high monster puppet suggestive of the Brain Bug from the movie. Around this monster a sacrificial ritual takes place performed by a troupe of 12 dancers. The work is an anarchic romp recasting the villain of a Hollywood the giant creature as a kind blockbuster as benign deity in a leafy paradise.

The acquisition of this work was made possible with funding from The Art Fund and The Contemporary Art Society. It formed a part of the Testing Media program managed to acquire work in challenging media.

This film of the performance was recorded at New Walk Museum Leicester on 28th April 2015.