Sonia Payes unfolds a mesmerizing video, Corn & Quarries, within the context of the DAS KAPITAL exhibition. While the typical pastoral scene of wind caressing fields of golden corn or wheat evokes feelings of tranquility, ‘Payes's video takes a divergent path, replacing serenity with an unexplainable dread and a profound inversion of perceived well-being... In this realm, sounds of icy wind provide a chilling soundtrack as hillsides teem with life, yet the tall stems are not wheat or corn but 'plants' comprised of multiplied infinitesimal human faces—specifically, the visage of Payes's daughter. As the viewer is compelled over this eerie landscape, the faces are arranged in a Janus-like manner or akin to the guardians of Angkor Wat, gazing North, West, South, and East. Despite their all-seeing nature, their crowded mass, buffeted by the wind, suggests a vulnerability, perhaps awaiting the arrival of a thrasher machine to harvest this peculiar crop... The video crafts a dystopian world inspired by Payes's imagination, seamlessly integrated with technology. Throughout the video, totems of feminine perfection take centre stage, oscillating between a stern solidity, as if carved from rock and crafted as deities to be worshipped, and a hypnotic dance in open fields, embodying creatures of sentient pollen... This haunting juxtaposition prompts contemplation on the purpose of this yield of beatific faces, creating a layered and thought-provoking narrative that transcends the boundaries of imagination, technology, and the disconcerting reality of our world.’—Excerpts from 'Interzone Catalogue,' Dr. Ashley Crawford.
Sonia Payes