Chris Cunningham is a filmmaker. He started out in the film industry at 17 years old, creating models, prosthetics, animatronics and illustrations for studios and productions. He gained a good overview by working in different departments, and his work with the character Judge Dredd attracted the attention of Stanley Kubrick during the development of the movie A.I. (Artificial Intelligence), a project which was later passed on to Steven Spielberg following Kubrick's death in 1999. Cunningham was hired as a visual effects supervisor but moved on a year later to direct music videos.

One of Cunningham's early music videos was for Aphex Twin, a project by Richard D. James who created techno and dance music stamped with his own distinct style. The video was for a track entitled Come to Daddy (Warp Records). The result created a stir in terms of the dark and sinister subject matter. The special effects stood out and complemented the music, and the mood captured the audience it was intended for, although in an interview with Index Magazine, James mentions the track started out as a joke and was created as a death metal parody.

This established Cunningham's visual style, which touched on unworldly characters or themes and drew on all the creative skills he had learnt during his early work in special effects. He often edges out into visually darker and disturbing subjects and uses distortion, contortion and the grotesque. Sparsely lit and desaturated scenes are often set in bleak or run-down locations, industrial settings, medical facilities or institutions.

Flickering lights, quick cuts, blurred shots, darkness, dramatic lighting contrast ('chiaroscuro' or light/dark), prosthetics, distressed or vague figures and abstract visuals were often included in the less mainstream music videos for artists such as Autechre, Portishead, Squarepusher, and The Horrors - and in some of his own experimental productions, including the psychologically hair-raising Rubber Johnny - a short about some kind of being in a wheelchair with a distorted head and body (played by Cunningham). Rubber Johnny was shot in infrared with a driving soundtrack by Aphex Twin and featured interruptions and stops, babbling madness, drugs, dance, confusion and angst - all packed into six minutes.

Cunningham also refers back to science fiction and the idea of robotics and how man and machine can connect or merge. He used this concept for Björk's music video for the track All is Full of Love from the album Homogenic (1997). The story outline involved industrial robots that conveyed a human-like sexual experience and tender emotional interactions. The production used advanced computer generation techniques added to filming done at Bray Studios in Berkshire, England. Both the music and the video were highly successful, won many industry awards, and marked a new point in visual music production.

His work became known as a result, and in 1998 he directed a music video for Madonna. The song was the track Frozen from the 1998 album Ray of Light and had a particular cinematic and melancholic feel. The film was shot on location in the Mojave Desert, California, with blue filters and a dark contrast. Madonna was portrayed in a Gothic / Pre-Raphaelite style dress and hairstyle with mystic shape-shifting and flow as a theme. The song was a change of direction for Madonna (more ambient and less pop), and both the song and the video were highly acclaimed.

Cunningham's success allowed him to move his particular style into the mainstream with commercials, graphic design, and photography. He created TV advertising and photography for brands such as Sony PlayStation, Orange, and Gucci.

Cunningham is a great example of someone who has inspiration and can't sit still. He develops himself creatively and has branched out with art installations, music production, and visual ideas using technology and sound. He has perfected the balance of sustaining income and work with independent creativity.

This approach has meant he has the freedom to spend time or go back to projects over a period of time (or even drop them altogether). Cunningham also took time out to develop independent projects where he created both the music and the visuals - an option he preferred to filmmaking which is often under the control of others.

Chris Cunningham has a proven track record with music artists and big brands, and he knows his craft. He seems uninterested in celebrity and lets his work speak for itself.

There is a domain registered as his name, but there is no site. There is no social media either. There are occasional live audio/visual shows for his music projects. His work is featured in the Directors Label DVD series, which showcases music video directors and their work. The first release featured Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and Chris Cunningham.

By Matt Sheen August MMXX - See video playlist for references

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