Proud Mary, 2017

Proud Mary is Daniel’s funeral song. 

Daniel has been obsessed by Tina Turner's version of Proud Mary since seeing her perform live in Sydney in 1991 and 1993. The sublime experience of seeing a powder keg like Tina perform the song inspired its selection as the key song in the mixtape of his forthcoming funeral.

First conceived alongside his installation Funeral Songs in 2007, Daniel’s lip-synced video performance of Proud Mary references the many times his friends have witnessed him spontaneously imitate her dance moves at parties.

Upon re-performing the work in an underground carpark in Sydney in 2012, Daniel made a self-initiated promise to document his ageing process by re-staging the performance every five years until his death.

For the 2017 version the artist ‘rolls down the river’ of a decrepit empty swimming pool found in New Norfolk, Tasmania.​

Credits

Proud Mary, 2017
Artist: Daniel Mudie Cunningham
Camera & Editor: Vera Hong
Music: Tina Turner, Proud Mary: 1993​
Filmed on location in New Norfolk, Tasmania

Proud Mary, 2007, 2012, 2017 
Camera: Sari TM Kivinen: 2007, Don Cameron: 2012, Vera Hong: 2017
Editor: Sari TM Kivinen: 2007, Vera Hong: 2012, 2017
Music: Tina Turner, Proud Mary: 1993​

Collection: Museum of Old and New Art​, (MONA) Tasmania