The American video and installation artist Bill Viola (b. 1951) is one of thempioneers of international media art and ranks among its most prominentmexponents. Since the 1970s, his video pieces have been exhibited throughoutnthe world. In 1995, Bill Viola represented the USA at the Venice Biennale. He wasmincluded in the documenta several times and has received numerous prestigiousmawards for his work.mThe Raft (2004) shows a group of women and men of different ethnic and socioeconomicmbackgrounds who are waiting in line in front of a neutral backdrop.mSuddenly they are struck by a massive onslaught of water. In extreme slowmotionmthe footage shows the individual reactions, the desperate gestures andmagonised expressions in the struggle against the overwhelming flood. Once themtorrent of water stops, an abject scene presents itself, with the group of peoplemravaged by a timeless and placeless natural disaster. As a universal metaphor ofmthe threat to human life and the hope for redemption, The Raft alludes tonThéodore Géricaults romantic painting The Raft of the Medusa, a dramatic historynpainting showing the men and women who, following the shipwreck of their frigate, are suspended between life and death, between despair and hope.
