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NICHE.LA VIDEO ART PRESENTS “CHRIST KILLA”
new work by Eric Medine
curated by Nic Cha Kim

LOS ANGELES, CA – On April 12, 2007 (12:00 – 9:00PM), Niche.LA Video Art presents “Christ Killa,” featuring digital and video artist Eric Medine.

Described as the ultimate arbitration between politics and Christianity, “Christ Killa” is a video game linked to video projectors and television monitors. A first person shooter in which the player shoots hordes of homicidal Jesus Christs, the game landscape is filled with Googled images of Christian propaganda posters, religious shrines such as St. Peter’s in Rome, and clichéd representations of Christ who constantly mumbles messages of tolerance and compassion.

The audience is invited to participate in the carnage by playing the video game and watching short videos of the game in action. The winner with most Christ kills will be awarded with a trophy at 9:00PM.

Eric Medine is a Los Angeles based artist working primarily in multi-media and video art. He received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1996 and his Masters degree at the Otis School of Art and Design in Los Angeles in 2006. He has shown work at the 2005 Los Angeles Juried Exhibition, the Angels Gate Art Center, the Greater L.A. MFA Exhibition in Long Beach, and the Walled Cities Gallery in San Pedro where he recently had a one-person show.

Artist Statement: Politics and religion affect the same cultural and social territories such as community, culture, economics, and ethics. Politics in particular is generally understood to be specifically concerned with managing strategies of (state) power.

Religion, historically associated with spiritual and ethical growth, has recently begun to incorporate the methods of political systems. This new form of religion is praised as leaner, more efficient, more streamlined, but what function does it provide? What happens when you remove the code of ethics, messages of love and community, and compassion from religion in order to implement a political agenda? This new hybrid takes the form of a dazzling distraction, a marketing strategy, aggressive competition, a worldview that divides everything into friend and enemy – all characteristics of modern video games.

We all perceive the influence of political power in the fluctuations of culture, economics, and technology. The ebb and flow of religion can now be felt on the video game screen.

Situated in the heart of Gallery Row on the 4th floor of the Spring Arts Tower, Niche.LA Video Art is a dedicated mixed-media & video art gallery. Located at 453 S. Spring St. #441, Los Angeles, CA 90013 (www.niche.la), Niche.LA Video Art is operated by Nic Cha Kim and Woody Wise.

“Christ Killa” – work by Eric Medine

Opening Reception & Game Tournament
April 12th, 12:00 – 9:00PM

Opening Reception & Screening
May 10th, 12:00 – 9:00PM

REGULAR SHOW HOURS
4/12/07 – 5/12/07
Thurs – Saturday, 12 – 6PM

Niche.LA Video Art
453 S. Spring St. #443, Los Angeles, CA 90013