American Boy
Dansens Hus
24. October - Kl 17.00
As a boy Hetain Patel was an avid actor-impersonator; in particular he worked with characters from the American movies until he identified with them completely. In American Boy he brings to life characters from his childhood: Spiderman, Agent Smith from Matrix, Eddie Murphy, Bruce Lee and many more in a playful and seamless synthesis of verbal and physical impressions. This work is a humorous and personal take on how identities are formed and shakes up our conceptions of who we are.
“Both a self-portrait and a reflection upon the popular culture that to a large degree shapes us, whether we are aware of it or not,” he says about American Boy.
Hetain Patel is of Indian descent, born and raised in Great Britain where he works primarily with photography, video, sculpture and installation, and in recent years, also as a choreographer. The body and identity are core elements of his artistic practice and American Boy from 2014 is his first solo show. Since 2014 Patel has been a New Wave Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells in London.