The XX - A Sculpture of an Album

The sculpture is the brainchild of Partizan director Saam Farahmand, who is keen to push the boundaries of what music videos can offer. “Music videos are a 2D visual interpretation of a song,” he explains. “We are interested in creating spaces that exist as a 3D physical interpretation of a song or an album, and that is what we have created for the album xx.”

The piece consists of three large audio-visual units that are displayed in the space, appearing somewhat like giant iPods. Each contains a film of one of the three members of The xx, shot by Farahmand (the director), as they play through their eponymous debut album. Alongside displaying the beautiful films, the units also emit a lightshow that reacts to the music. The overall affect is simple yet compelling.



“It shares sensibilities with art installations, but it should not be considered in this context,” continues Farahmand. “It is in essence a physical music video, a looping shrine to the album that you cannot compress, send or turn off. We have to understand that these pop-up ‘rooms’ and ‘spaces’ should and will become as commonplace as music videos, bridging the gap until we have the technology to ‘stream’ a 3D experience through our home computer as if it was a YouTube clip. The xx are the perfect ambassadors for the medium. Their music is mesmerising, and deeply physically affecting.”