2007
Momento Monkey depicts an orchestrated encounter between the Apes from the film Planet of the Apes and the apes of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Both of these films raise questions about technology, progress and conflict; yet the former film is considered to be a masterpiece of cinema and the latter to be no better than a cult B-movie. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the apes find a mysterious monolith and begin to use tools which are rapidly transformed into weapons. In Planet of the Apes, humans have destroyed their own civilization and have been replaced by a fiercely hierarchical culture of intelligent Apes. In placing these two sets of film apes together, Borins and Marman are marshalling entire narratives, spin-offs, and the exegesis of fan fiction into a carefully conceived tableau reminiscent of history painting and the reference to the encounters and clashes of civilizations.