Matthew Barney, Secondary

Filmed in Matthew Barney's sculpture studio in Long Island City, New York, in the United States - where it was first unveiled in spring 2023 - the installation consists of five videos that take place simultaneously on a reconstructed American football field. For 60 minutes, eleven performers - mainly dancers with ageing bodies, including the artist - represent the action on the pitch. The plot of SECONDARY revolves around the memory of an incident that occurred during a professional football match on 12 August 1978: a violent impact between Oakland Raiders defender Jack Tatum and New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley, which left Stingley paralysed for life. Replayed over and over again in the sports media, this tragic event would remain engraved in the minds of American fans and of the young Barney, himself a rookie quarterback at the time.