Ourhouse + Book A/MEGACOLON/For and Against Language

Accompagnying the release of the book Book A/MEGACOLON/For and Against Language, a collaboration with museum De Hallen, Nathaniel Mellors also exhibited an episode of his new film at Onomatopee; Ourhouse.

In Ourhouse, Nathaniel Mellors combines sculptural elements with narrative video. In the video series a wealthy European family are unexpectedly confronted with a mysterious manifestation, ’the Object’, which suddenly appears in the living room of their country home. In Ourhouse the artist handles subjects such as religion, ideology and power in an absurdist and theatrical manner.In the Onomatopee project space, Mellors shows the first 30-minute episode of Ourhouse. The series will eventually consist of 6 episodes.

Book A/MEGACOLON/For and Against Language is an experimental monograph exploring linguistic manipulation, absurdist comedy and other aspects of the work of Nathaniel Mellors, with contributions by artist Mick Peter and critic John C. Welchman.

Book A/MEGACOLON/For and Against Language contains a selection of Mellors’ original scripts from 2006 onwards, that have since been turned into video and installation works - from the demise of an ageing Polish supercomputer in Brain One – Mózg Jeden (2006) to the language games and ideological clashes within the Maddox-Wilson family in Ourhouse (2010-).

Art historian John C. Welchman has contributed an experimental Abecedarium, both academic and playful, in which he responds to and elaborates on ideas present in Mellors’ scatological intrahuman journey Giantbum (2009). Artist and writer Mick Peter’s ‘Wall Eyed Stranger: An Introduction to Mellorfilm and the British Grotesque Explosion’ sheds new light on some of the key characters in Mellors’ absurdist universe, in a deeply annotated text that increasingly expands and dissolves itself.



Editend and Curated by:Xander Karskens

Texts:John C. Welchman and Mick Peter

Graphic design:Remco van Bladel