Panayiotis Delilabros

I Knew You Were Waiting For me, 2008, Video, DV, 02min 48sec
“I knew you were waiting for me” is a remake of the music promo of the same name by George Michael’s and Aretha Franklin.
Delilabros explores his relationship with the original narrative and his role as viewer (both inside and outside the work) by re-imagining the original video. The basic elements of the original video, including the title of the song, functions as a foundation for an abstract narrative and a game of transformations divided into two parts.
In the first section of the work, George Michael is replaced by the artist staring at a pulsating blank projection which provides the only lighting source, mirroring the conventions and modus operandi of the promo.
In the second section a transition is played out on the reflection of the artist’s sunglasses, whereby the blank screen/Aretha is transformed into a found animated gif of a walking skeleton.
The skeleton, an image at once ridiculous and bathetic, is confined to an unending loop, never reaching a final destination until the light of the projection fails, rendering the viewer and the artist in darkness.