I’ve been working on a new web project called Horror Stories with Julie Gill, a programmer who is also a ballet dancer. Here’s a sneak peek at the visuals. I am hoping to launch it soon.

Better Off Dead is a new scholarly book edited by Sarah Juliet Lauro and Deborah Christie (Fordham Press). It features a chapter titled Zombies Invade Performance Art…and Your Neighbourhood, featuring Thea Munster’s Toronto Zombie Walks and my own artworks. Cover art and other images from my recent work. Well written and researched, the book is not another campy zombie book; this one considers the post-human archetype from some surprising angles.

Two recent TV series which, despite my low expectations, I have been watching, for “research purposes” are The Walking Dead and Being Human (UK version only).

The Walking Dead, on AMC, is based on a weekly comic series begun in 2003. It’s a zombie apocalypse tale set in the American South (Georgia), and better than a lot of zombie movies. The worst part is the first season had only 6 episodes and it’s been off now for many months. It shares a problem with a lot of high production TV: namely, suspense fades fast. I already forgot the characters’ names. I may have missed the undead for a while, but I got over it.

Being Human, decidedly more light-hearted, has a ridiculous premise: a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost shack up and try to pass as human in a working class Bristol neighbourhood. As embarrassing as this may sound, it is both funny and dramatic. Refreshingly, Mitchell the vampire, despite being abstinent and devastatingly handsome like his fellow male vampire stars Bill (True Blood) and Edward (Twilight) which I’ve mentioned before here and here, has no human ingénue to protect with his powers, and torture with his immortality. The worst thing about this series is the terrible and completely charmless American remake, hot on its heels and eager to capitalize on its success.

Vampire Diaries set in small town Virginia and currently in it’s second season on CW, is equally charmless. No amount of beautiful pouts can drag the teenaged characters from their dull lines and generic prettiness, and I lost interest long before the first diary entry (yes, the vampire does keep a diary, as does his human ingénue love interest).

On Tuesday my solo show, Zombies!, curated by Lee Arnold opens in New Jersey and includes 3 videos, 2 drawings, and 2 lenticular photographs featuring, you guessed it, zombies!

A reception will be held Friday, Nov 12 at Drew University’s Korn Gallery, following a zombie makeup workshop and campus zombie sneak attack!

Read the exhibition essay by Kimberly Rhodes (pdf, 1.7 MB).

Zombies, Victims, Make-up artists needed. No experience necessary (will train).

“Dead of the Night is a re-imagining of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) in the gallery space, where audience members are inserted into the narrative as the horror unfolds. Surrounded by menacing zombies and set within the context of a rural farmhouse, visitors attempt to evade the ghouls unyielding thirst for human flesh.”

Photos below by Scott Wachal, U of M Fine Arts students and zombie extraordinaire (he’s the one who fully plunged into Lake Winnipeg…in…October).

Fred, dancing before the farmer attack scene.

This is not a wedding shoot.

Last week I was in Winnipeg, my hometown, thanks to Cliff Eyland and Sigrid Dahle of Gallery One One One and The University of Manitoba. In half a week, I shot a new video titled A Prairie Horror, featuring the talents of various Winnipeg folks. These production photos are by Derek Brueckner, my fabulous Sunday assistant:

May, according to the Zombie Research Society, is zombie awareness month. It’s already the 10th, so if you’re behind I recommend sleeping with one eye open - starting now. Wear your grey ribbon (perhaps you have one you can recycle from other awarenesses such as Diabetes, Brain Cancer, and others).

Secondly, there is a band from Paris called Zombie Zombie - it’s trance music - get it?

And visit the blog for an upcoming DIY (as yet untitled) apocalyptic zombie film combining narrative fiction and contextual zombie-expert interviews… by Michael Frank of Rochester, NY. I met Michael in January in frozen Buffalo, NY and look forward to his feature.

And last but not least, this Studio 360 clip on zombies was sent to me from Sam Zimmerman in NYC:

During my sabbatical I am taking a creative writing class. Oh yes, I’ve been moving the brain in new and mysterious ways, highly recommended. I may one day need to write a play about philosophical zombies and sock puppet identities, for example. Perhaps it will be a musical, featuring bands of ukeleles. I am stockpiling skills.

Friend and gallery owner Michael Rosenthal recently sent me a story by Donald Barthelme (1981) titled Zombies. It brings to mind the lesser but greatly hyped Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

And speaking of that marketing success, Dawn of The Dreadfuls, the prequel to Pride and… is coming hot on its heels next month, following the “post-script prequel” trend haunting all manner of horror lately. The cover for Dawn… is above.