Synopsis
Michael Landy acknowledges that he will probably always be known as "that bloke who destroyed all his belongings". In his 2001 artwork
Break Down he publicly and systematically shredded, dismantled and demolished everything that he owned. "I'm always trying to get rid of myself," he says, "so that I can move on. And then I end up always coming back to the same themes… I guess I'm a creature of habit." In this film profile
Michael Landy reflects on
Break Down and on his other complex and ambitious projects,
Scrapheap Services (1996) and
Semi-detached (2004). Prompted by his father's injury from an industrial accident,
Semi-detached involved the construction inside Tate Britain of a full-scale replica of the exterior of his parents' suburban home. He also discusses his meticulous, delicate drawings as well as the ideas and directly personal concerns that underpin his unconventional art.
