The New Normal (Red/ Green, 6×6) LED Matrix

James Clar’s The New Normal (Red/Green 6x6), (2020) is a video of a stuntman on fire, re-edited into a seamless loop. In the video, the figure runs, spins, and pumps his fist as flames dance around him. His energetic, almost joyful, gestures seem to be at odds with his dire situation. The work recalls the myth of the Phoenix but the never-ending loop somehow prevents the promised cycle of rebirth, leaving him to exist in a constant state of transition.