‘Intimacy II: Horror’ is the second part of a sensory supernatural visual series created by Richie Shazam & Ben Draghi. Navigating within the tropes/ motifs of gore and horror, the two artists examine their intimacy- turning the lens on one another, the pair only meet in the digitized world. It’s a hyper diabolical unpacking of their relationship, exploring themes of sadism, darkness, and resurrection- and how these themes relate to the dynamic between them. Draghi’s score is a haunting soundscape that traverses the viewer through the pair’s mutated reality.

Richie’s Bio:
Richie Shazam is a multidisciplinary artist, photographer and model born in New York City and currently based in New York City. Recent and upcoming performances include “Summer Fog” at Ruaminx HQ,” Berlin (2019), “The Darkroom(s) of Richie Shazam”, Red Bull Arts, NY NY (2019), “Blind Audition” at Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (2018), and “CELL ECHO”, Yuz Museum Shanghai (2018). Shazam’s artistic and curatorial approach investigates subversive radical queer ideologies by deconstructing antiquated notions of gender identity through text, photography, video and performance - harmoniously working between fashion and art to dismantle preconceived notions of beauty through the act of storytelling.

Ben’s Bio:
Ben Draghi is an experimental music composer and videographer born is Paris, France and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Recent graduate of Wesleyan University and recipient of the Gwen Livingston Pokora Prize for excellence in musical composition, Draghi has collaborated on a variety of audio-visual projects and films, and is currently working on a solo music record set for release in the Fall of 2019.

Credits:
CGI: Radimir Koch