GENERATOR #1: States of Matter

Maria Rodski with Lee „Scratch“ Perry / Volker Schaner

“I’m a miracle man, things happen which I don’t plan … Instant input, instant output.” That is how the Jamaican musician Lee “Scratch” Perry described his practice, which was informed by the immediate and spontaneous synergy of action and reaction. Perry helped pave the way for Dub, Reggae and Ska and has been hailed as a pioneer of remixing and the mashup. Perhaps most importantly, his work was a key contribution to the formation of a distinctive Jamaican identity.

Perpetual metamorphosis and transformation were also hallmarks of Perry’s yearslong collaboration with the artist Maria Rodski. It resulted in objects in a diverse assortment of media and techniques, including totem-like wall pieces incorporating old CDs and art postcards, scribbles and lyrics, mal- functioning vintage recording devices, Black Madonna figures, and stones thought to possess mythical power. The filmmaker Volker Schaner documented the experimental work of the two of them, making us witnesses to the creative process. Schaner also shows selected scenes from his video work with Lee Perry from 1999 to 2019.