Nathaniel Mellors combines elements of film and theater with absurdist humor to explore notions of power and control in culture The BBC commissioned the artist to create The 7 Ages of Britain Teaser for the television documentary series called ‘The Seven Ages of Britain’, which was written and presented by a renowned British television commentator David Dimbleby. In The 7 Ages of Britain Teaser, Mellors questions the conventions of mainstream British broadcasting programs which demonstrate an ideal mastery of the English language and narration. This pseudo-documentary mimics these features, and retells the ancient history of the alphabet with quintessential English mannerisms and intonations. The opening scene begins with a verbal match between a Medieval dwarf named Kadmus (a reference to the ancient Greek inventor of the alphabet) and golden robed deity who grapples to keep the facial mask of the television presenter, which has the power to grant them the control of the ‘modern age’. In spite of their attempts to hold on to this special power, they lose grip of the face which falls and spirals down to the riverside of the Thames in London. The presenter picks up the mask, and continues to narrate the role of media in telling the 20th century history of art. To accompany this film, the artist created an animatronic sculpture based on the face of the presenter. Built as a kinetic machine, this strange lifelike mask of Dimbleby reflects on art, media and culture with satirical humor.
