“In Mark Leckey’s sculpture Inflatable Felix, a thirty-one-foot version of the mischievous cartoon cat sits slumped on the ground of the gallery in a kind of slacker repose. Little did we know that a three-dimensional doll-like version of this cartoon character was the subject of the first experimental television broadcast in 1928. As with all radio and television transmissions, this image of Felix is still travelling through the ether of deep space at the speed of light. It’s for this reason that Leckey has described Felix as a kind of avatar of the modern world, in which images and information are transmitted at a volume and speed that television broadcasting pioneers could not even imagine.” (source: Marciano Art Foundation)
Mark Leckey is a British contemporary artist (born 1964 in Birkenhead, UK) best known for his multimedia work that blends video, sculpture, sound, performance, and installation to explore themes like popular culture, technology, youth subcultures, nostalgia, class, and the ecstatic or transcendent potential of images and objects. His practice often mixes found footage, personal memory, British rave and club culture, and the impact of emerging technologies on everyday life, creating what many describe as emotional media collages or contemporary mythologies.Most Iconic WorkLeckey first gained widespread attention with his seminal 1999 video Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore — a cult classic that collages found footage of British youth subcultures (from 1970s Northern Soul to 1990s rave) into a hypnotic, nostalgic portrait of nightlife, fashion, and collective energy. It remains one of his most influential pieces and is frequently cited as pioneering a new form of video art. Major RecognitionHe won the Turner Prize in 2008 for his exhibition Industrial Light and Magic (among other shows), which included works like Made in ‘Eaven (a video featuring a rotating Jeff Koons sculpture) and explored desire, transformation, and the “magical” qualities of objects and technology. Other Notable Works are: Dream English Kid 1964–1999 AD (2015) — an autobiographical video retracing his own life events using archived internet footage; Sound System (2002) and large-scale installations that incorporate sound and architecture; Sculptural pieces and performances that often blur high and low culture, sometimes with a shamanic or psychedelic edge (e.g., works involving smart fridges or amusement-park aesthetics).
Mark Leckey has a long-standing obsession with Felix the Cat, which he treats as a kind of personal avatar or totem — a figure that embodies the slippery movement between image, object, technology, and culture. Felix appeals to him because the cartoon cat was one of the very first images ever broadcast on television (in 1929), linking early broadcast media to modern digital transmission, memes, and the “long tail” of internet culture. Leckey often describes Felix as a being that has passed fluidly from material form (toys, costumes) to virtual and back again, carrying a kind of magical or shamanic charge.
Felix Gets Broadcasted (2008): This was part of the exhibition that won him the Turner Prize in 2008 (Industrial Light and Magic). It directly references Felix’s historic role in early TV broadcasting and explores themes of transmission, magic, and the life of images. Leckey has incorporated lectures and performances around this idea, sometimes speaking from inside a Felix costume or suit. Inflatable Felix (2013–2014, with later versions): A massive, giant inflatable sculpture of Felix the Cat (around 10 meters / 31 feet tall when upright, though often shown slumped or deflated on the gallery floor). Made of fabric with a blower, it’s both playful and slightly melancholic — a pop-cultural monument that feels both celebratory and deflated.
