Daniel Askill (born 1977) is an Australian filmmaker and artist who uses film, photographs,

video installation Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has ...

and sculpture in his work. He has directed short films,

music videos A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, commercials and fashion films. He is currently based between Sydney and New York.

Early life and work

Askill was born in Sydney in 1977. He has two brothers: Lorin Askill (a director, editor, photographer and artist) and Jordan Askill (a jewelry designer). He initially studied visual communication at the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

in 1997 before moving to London, studying at the

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of sho ...

in 1999. Working freelance in London, he was involved in design work and film direction. Also during his time in London, he engaged in visual design work for

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashio ...

. In 2001, Askill returned to Sydney and founded multimedia production and design studio Collider with his colleagues Andrew van der Westhuyzen and Sam Zalaiskalns. The studio has since expanded and presently has a large roster of staff and directors. In addition to his background in film and video, Askill also has a background in music composition and performance. He also recorded an album with shakuhachi player

Riley Lee Riley Kelly Lee (born 1951) is an American-born Australian-based shakuhachi player and teacher. In 1980 he became the first non-Japanese person to attain the rank of Dai Shihan (grand master) in the shakuhachi tradition. He is a recipient of t ...

when he was 19. With Collider, Askill directed short films, fashion films and commercials for companies including Sony, Dior Homme and Xbox.

''We Have Decided Not To Die''

In 2003, Askill wrote and directed the critically acclaimed, surreal short film ''We Have Decided Not To Die''. Exhibited in various international film festivals, the film won prizes at the

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...

festival in France, Melbourne International in Australia, Brooklyn International and South by Southwest in the United States. The work is notable for its portrayal of the human body, ritual and use of visceral special effects. It was described by film critic Susan Shineberg in the Sydney Morning Herald as "a breathtaking, burnished triptych, it evokes a surreal, ritualistic world whose characters appear to float free of space and time".

Works

Along with his video art he has also directed numerous

for artists such as

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

, These New Puritans and

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. He directed Phoenix's Rally (2007) and Consolation Prizes (2006) Askill was also commissioned to make films for fashion companies like Ksubi, Another Magazine, Dior and Acne. In 2009, Askill collaborated with the

Sydney Dance Company Sydney Dance Company is a contemporary dance company in Australia. The company has performed on stages around the world, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Joyce Theater in New York, the Shanghai Grand Theatre in China, and the ...

in its creative work ''We Unfold''. Askill was commissioned to provide video art to screen alongside the work which was exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2010. Askill's most recent, solo exhibitions ''Modern Worship'' (2011) and ''Three Rituals'' (2011) have been exhibited in Los Angeles and Sydney. The works are described as "a meditation on the notion of ritual and how it can be viewed through the eyes of modern culture" and use video installation, photography and sculpture. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2014 he won Best Video, co-directing with Sia Furler, on her music video, " Chandelier" (March 2014).

List of works

Film

* ''We Have Decided Not to Die'' (2003)
Take Flight - The New York Times (2015)
* ''Universal Machine'' (2019)

Artistic works

* ''Modern Worship'' (2011) * ''Slow Work on a Bright Screen (2010)'' * ''Triptych and Transforming'' (2010) * ''Artefacts from The Fifth Ritual'' (2009) * ''We Unfold'' (2009) * ''Suspending Disbelief'' (2008) * ''Angel'' (2007)

Music videos

Flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to t ...

feat.

Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek co-founded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...

– Sirens (2022) *

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

– Stupid Love (2020) *

–

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

(2017) *

– The Greatest (2016) *

– Cheap Thrills (Performance Edit) (2016) *

–

Alive Alive may refer to: *Life Books, comics and periodicals * ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler * '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka * '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', ...

(2016) *

– Big Girls Cry (2015) *

– Elastic Heart (2015) *

– Chandelier (2014) * These New Puritans – Fragment Two (2013) * WIM – See You Hurry (2011) * These New Puritans – We Want War (2009) * Digitalism – Pogo (2007) *

– Rally (2007) *

Placebo A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general, placebos can af ...

– Follow the Cops (2006) *

– Consolation Prizes (2006) * Unkle feat. Ian Brown – Reign (2005) *

–

Breathe Me "Breathe Me" is a 2004 single by Australian singer Sia featured on the album ''Colour the Small One.'' The single has sold over 1.2 million copies in the United States. The song became popular on alternative radio and has been used in many diff ...

(2004)

Commercials

Askill has also directed a number of commercials for companies including, Sony, BMW, Dior Homme, and Xbox. *

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

– New York City Ballet *

Smirnoff Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff prod ...

– Purity * BMW – Climate Control *

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

– Hero *

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

– Faces * Dior Homme – Jude Law * Cadillac – Roll * Airfrance – Swimming Pool *

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...

– Merge *

Hummer Hummer (stylized as HUMMER) is a brand of pickups and SUVs that was first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a sub-brand of GMC in 2020. ...

– Chairs *

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...

– Olympic Art

Selected exhibitions and screenings

* Prism, Los Angeles – ''Three Rituals'' – 2011 * Gallery A.S, Sydney – ''Modern Worship'' – 2011 * Nam June Paik Art Center, Seoul, Korea- ''Souvenirs from Earth'' – 2011 * Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy – ''We Unfold'' – 2010 * World Expo, Shanghai, China – ''We Unfold'' – 2010 * ASVOFF Centre Pompidou, Paris, France- ''Nocturna'' – 2010 * RAFW, Sydney- ''Suspending Disbelief'' – 2009 * Monster Children Gallery, Sydney- ''Artefacts From The Fifth Ritual'' – 2009 * Palais de Tokyo, Paris – ''France Artcurial for Amnesty International'' – 2008 * Werkleitz Biennale, Halle, Germany – ''Happy Believers'' – 2006 (group) * Institute of Contemporary Art, London, UK – ''onedotzero'' – 2004 * ARTSPACE, Sydney, Australia – ''We Have Decided Not To Die'' – 2003

References

External links

Daniel Askill's homepage

Collider

We Have Decided Not To Die

Three Rituals exhibit at Prism LA

Interview with Daniel Askill at Mr Porter

{{DEFAULTSORT:Askill, Daniel ARIA Award winners Artists from Sydney Australian film directors Australian filmmakers 1977 births Living people University of Technology Sydney alumni Alumni of Central Saint Martins