JUSTIN MARSHALL – As Seen On TV
October 19 – November 24, 2007

Thomas Robertello Gallery is pleased to present As Seen On TV, the first solo exhibition of staged performance photography and video work by Justin Marshall October 19 through November 24, 2007.

The photo-based work in the first solo exhibition of 27-year-old artist Justin Marshall comprises a diary investigating the ways in which screen-based forms of communication have infiltrated our lives. Exposure to TV, computer screens, and text messaging has become a substitute for real time human contact. In this series of amateur style tableaux, Marshall reveals the trend toward hermetically sealed social environments that elevate TV and other modes of screen-based media to human status. Constructed identities emerge as the internet and various forms of second life virtual reality take the place of an ever-increasing decay of authentic collective consciousness and our world moves toward a new virtual consciousness. Imaginary perceptions of self and others replace truth through will, fear, and well-thought-out strategies. The screen acts as a protective barrier against emotional connection empowering individuals to live safe but isolated lives steeped in irony and psychological implosion.

Marshall’s video work explores the ability to retell stories through massive and thorough editing, inventing new truths, scenarios, and subliminal messages. Each video work incorporates hundreds of hours of viewing and editing in the style of maniacal rapid channel surfing. The viewing experience often results in the brain’s inability to keep pace with the mixed messages and inconsistencies being communicated, perhaps a metaphor for the close and repeated scrutiny required to decode political behavior and the uncovering of truths embedded within a dense web of lies.

Justin Marshall received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2003. His work has been screened in New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis.