James Blake 'Like The End' by Jon Rafman
David Knight - 30th Nov 2024
It’s one of James Blake’s loveliest songs, and it’s an anthem of despair that articulates how many people are feeling right now, post-US Presidential election. In the video for Like The End, Jon Rafman projects Blake’s fear for the state of the world into a surreal carnival of bizarre imagery.
The Canadian artist, renowned for his video/internet artworks like Kool-Aid Man in Second Life and colloborations with Daniel Laputin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never) delivers a world without reason or context, yet with its series of random, haunting images (lo-fi, probably AI-enhanced or created), both unfeasible yet bordering on the plausible, suggests the lines between reality and unreality are increasingly meaningless.
There is enjoyment to be had in the coal-black humour and brilliant execution of those intense images. But as the visuals serve to ramp up the misery and disbelief at the heart of Blake’s song, you can’t get around the fact that its all a bit too scary for words.
David Knight - 30th Nov 2024
Credits
Production/Creative
- Director
- Jon Rafman
David Knight - 30th Nov 2024