A&E

Paul McCarthy / / 2022

Paul McCarthy’s newest virtual reality artwork is part of his larger project ‘A&E’ (2019), encompassing a wide range of media. Taking shape as a feature film series, multiple drawing sessions and a Virtual Reality artwork, ‘A&E’, an acronym for Adolf & Eva, Adam & Eve, Arts & Entertainment, finds McCarthy transformed into Adolf Hitler/Adam and the actor Lilith Stangenberg as Eva Braun/Eve. Adolf is depicted as the epitome of predatory toxic masculinity and buffoonery, while Eva is at once the lover, mother and daughter. This hybrid reality invites a questioning of our condition, our way of life. At a time when America’s nastier sides are more apparent than ever, McCarthy exposes the decrepitude beneath convention.