EMPIRE II | FILM SCREENING | CONTINUOUS

RUNTIME: 327 MIN

YEAR: 2010

IDEA / PRODUCTION: BRUSSELSSPROUT

ORIGINAL IDEA: ANDY WARHOL, 1964

DIRECTOR: DAVID PAYTON / LAHORA YDNA / ANDRE ORIONE

EDITION: BRUSSELSSPROUT

Brusselssprout presents Empire II, a sequel to the film Empire, shot in 1964 by Andy Warhol and Jonas Mekas. Empire is a silent, black and white, 8 hour and 5 minute long film that lacks a traditional narrative or characters. THe passage from day light to darkness becomes the film’s narrative, while the protagonist is the iconic building that was (and is again) the tallest in New York City, THe Empire State Building, built in 1931.

Empire II is the continuation of the Andy Warhol work: creation of non-media as media, film as non-film. The film was shot on July 27th, 2010 and presents Burj Khalifa (aka Burj Dubai) from 6.35pm till 12.02am that very day. Just as in the 1964 film, the film’s narrative becomes the daylight segued into darkness, while the protagonist is the tallest building in the world.  Insignificant details such as blinking light mark the passage of time.  5 hours and 27 minutes of film in colour and sound.

Through the use of obsolete media, Brusselssprout presents a tool of fantasy and myth, capable of regenerating the beaten prairies of Dreamlands.  A sequel to a work (Andy Warhol, Empire) that is essential to understand the complexity of the twentieth century.