Client: The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.

Overview

An immersive video installation inspired by historical artworks from The Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. Move the Way you Want transports viewers back-and-forth, from ancient mythology where horses are symbols of majesty and beauty to today’s obsessions with digital devices of our shared economy. Drawing on a wide range of sources—from historical artworks and ancient mythology, to science fiction, video games, and virtual reality — Move the Way you Want reflects the tensions of our commercialized lifestyle.

Goals

Move the Way you Want is a site-specific immersive installation transforming the former Dining Room of the Phillips House into phantasmagoric dreamscapes where past and present meet. In adhesive canvas printed with digital imagery, Gothic-like archways and lavish Baroque-like windows frame a present-day beach scene with bike shares, abandoned scooters, and hi-tech gadgets. Additionally, a video-projection features a mythical horse walking on a beach to embark on an unknown journey.

Monaghan’s installation is accompanied by paintings from the Phillips’s permanent collection, Giorgio de Chirico’s Horse (1928) and Théodore Géricault’s Two Horses (1808–09). While the inclusion of de Chirico’s work adds to the surreal atmosphere of the installation, Géricault’s painting gives it a romantic tone.