After Arca released the video for “Now You Know,” which felt like an unexpected break from the usually grotesque imagery we’re now used to, he and best bud director Jesse Kanda bring back the computer-generated presence of the Venezuelan producer’s alter ego and center character of his debut album in the video for his song “Xen.”
We already pointed out the beauty of this particular track on our Xen album review, even if it’s surrounded by a sinister atmosphere. The accompanying visuals represent that very well. Here we have her, Xen, who is non-gender specific but has strong female features. Xen dances provocatively under the flashes of a strobe light, and as the song progresses, their body contorts and changes shape. They deform in front of our eyes, but never stops dancing. We’ve seen some of the techniques used here on previous Kanda outputs, like on fka Twigs’ “How’s That,” and scene two of the TRAUMA series. The soft middle section stands out, paired up with images of Xen moving graciously in front of a white background, painting layers of color with their body like brushstrokes. In case you haven’t noticed yet, ugly/beautiful is definitely their game.