PLAYING FIELDS - 25:52min

FUNDED IN PART BY THE CENTRE D'ART CONTEMPORAIN GENEVE WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE FONDS D'ART CONTEMPORAIN DE LA VILLE DE GENEVE (FMAC), THE FONDS CANTONAL D'ART CONTEMPORAIN (FCAC) & THE MONA MUSEUM. 

Jay Townend. The lead, the main guy, sharing the stage with a custom 03 Monte Carlo SS. "Jay" was an easy cast. The guy that plays him wasn't one of those actors that acts - he didn't need to act - he was just "Jay" from the get go. He'd also had experience with drifting cars - he was almost perfect - he was almost the real deal.

I ended up buying a stock 2003 Chevy Monte Carlo SS from this guy in Downey, he was selling it on behalf of his brother who was somewhat of a car junky. It already had cut out spaces for TV monitors in the headrests & was wired up for Subwoofer install. All I knew at this point was that I was going to "bulk it up" & that the "performance" that was going to become Playing Fields, was running parallel to my Bodybuilding days with Danny Taylor & Miami Pro.  

From my end, Bodybuilding's about "enlarging yourself", making yourself into an idealised version. Who do you wanna be. As far as performance goes it's pretty performative. Customising a car isn't much different, it's all ego, it's all about bulking up - enlargement - "body kits". Both pursuits can set you up to be on stage, trying to place for that medal that trophy, the gold at the end of the rainbow.

After a three week period the Monte Carlo had been converted. Body kit, tvs, Subs, 24" rims, Tangerine paint job, Spider hood, black detailing, tinted windows, fogged lights, Tree shaped orange car freshener. Jay was ready to go, ready to make his move. 

We got wind of a car comp in Fontana, a guy named Eric was our way in, he was putting it on, he called it Cruise Night, it was his show, he was down to earth, had seven trophies to his name, nice guy. This is where Jay ended up placing top 10 out of 53 cars & won his first trophy. It was a strange experience for me when they called "his car" - "his name", watching Jay collect his trophy. It felt like being just off set, leaning on the edge of the faux wall, being removed enough from the action that you could see it from two vantage points. It felt more real here, more actual, closer to the source, closer to the reality of the situation. Lifting up the covers & saying Hey! whats up!?

Who was this for? This semi staging, this infiltration? It was for no one & everyone. It was for the situation, & the situation alone. To open it up under general anaesthetic & see what the deal was.    

The car, the car became this device in which Jay could penetrate these social happenings, penetrate certain realities & get in behind them, go into them. Do an autopsy & file a report.

Everything from here on in was bonus.  

Jay went on the join the car club Xplizit, "rolled with them", entered car shows with them. They have "chapters" across the US & are also active in Mexico, Brazil & Japan aka they're a big deal in the "DUB" world. 

In some ways it seems that this did go down, maybe Jay was perfect -  maybe he was the real deal. He had the car, he won the trophies, he joined the club & got the T-shirt. He did it. His Youtube channel, his Instagram page are all there for you to watch & follow just like any other. His Cruise Night trophy - as real as the next.