Presented at Lo Schermo dell'arte 2017 

Finnish artist Mika Taanila’s short is a tribute to Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) starring David Bowie. The World is a literally reversed version: the images are upsidedown. Bowie’s influence is evident in the soundtrack, a crazy cover of his song, The Man Who Sold the World.
In desolate landscapes, animals, objects and empty vehicles seem to wait for a final disaster. The apocalyptic atmosphere echoes Bowie’s lyrics: “We must have died alone, a long time ago”. 


Mika Taanila 
Born 1965, lives in Helsinki. Artist and filmmaker, his works have been exhibited in major museums and international art centers such as Venice Biennale (North Padiglione, 2017), Aichi Triennial (2013), dOCUMENTA (2012), Shanghai Biennial 2006), Berlin Biennial (2004), Manifesta (2002), Istanbul Biennial (2001). Solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma of Helsinki (2013-14), Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis (2013), and TENT, Rotterdam (2013). Taanila’s short films have been screened in more than 300 international festivals and special events. In 2015 he was awarded the Ars Fennica Award, the most important Finnish art prize.