London Guildhall University

Political documentary meets baroque rave video in this computer animated portrayal of Louis XIV and his pleasure palace at Versailles. Courtiers from a Rudolf Valentino movie appear in an environment more reminiscent of Blade Runner, while shots from the Poll Tax Riots are weaved into a virtual diorama of London. Uncover the Seventeenth Century origins of our fascination with special effects, surveillance and addiction to media spectacle.

'London Market eXcess' is a term used in the Lloyds insurance industry to describe the practice of re-insuring a policy over and over again, increasing the risk at each turn in the 'spiral' until the whole financial edifice collapses under its own weight. With Thatcher as our narrator, this film takes us on a fast-forward ride through the high-rise 1980s and the lottery-led 1990s. A conceptual pop promo about Britain’s transition from greed, speed and paisley patterns to risk, insecurity and financial meltdown.