Weeping

In Weeping Melhus assumes the role of a televangelist preaching the way to redemption and salvation. The installation consists of two side-by-side projections of the same character - played by the artist - that emerge like apparitions from an image of a fiery light. Their faces are larger than life and their voices are mechanized as they deliver a sermon inspired by a programme on the Trinity Broadcast Network in the United States. The preachers deliver their messages alternately, with one inspiring and encouraging, and the other adopting a more uncertain stance. In the artist's hands, the preachers become both demonic and absurd as they offer prophecies, promise comfort and inspire redemption. The images are accompanied by a catchy, pulsating electronic rhythm that engages viewers with the piece.
The humour and absurdity of Melhus' work allow for a critique of topics such as the role of religion in contemporary society. As typified in Weeping, the artist samples words, images and sounds from the most banal sources, highlighting the emptiness of their content and emptying the messages even further so that what remains are the seductive strategies of persuasion used by the media.

(from: Rochelle Steiner, catalogue text for State of Play, Serpentine Gallery, London, 2004)