Patrick Staff: The Foundation

Overview

Queer intergenerational relationships lie at the heart of The Foundation, a major film installation by renowned UK/USA artist Patrick Staff. A combination of passive, historical footage and created contemporary dance sequences explore the exhibition’s themes from different angles.

The footage revolves around the Tom of Finland Foundation, a Los Angeles organisation devoted to preserving the work of erotic artist and gay icon Touko Laaksonen (1920–1991), known as Tom of Finland. Largely observational in nature, the footage paints a picture of the foundation as a space that serves many different roles: an archive of homoerotic art, a private home, a business place and the heart of a community. The people associated with the foundation, and the work of the artist himself, represent the different generations that responded to Tom of Finland’s legacy.

The Foundation exhibits at the Institute of Modern Art from 8 August to 10 October.

Image: Patrick Staff, The Foundation (still from HDV, 28 mins, 2014). Co-commissioned by Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane; Chisenhale Gallery, London; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; and Spike Island, Bristol. Co-produced by Chisenhale Gallery and Spike Island. Courtesy of the artist.