When popular Southern California artist Darren Pearson, also known as “Dariustwin,” saw the videos and memes circulating about Australian breakdancer Raygun at the Paris Olympics, he knew exactly what to do.
In a video posted to her various social media platforms, which boast over a million followers, she created an animation of Rachael Gunn, aka “Raygun,” as a tribute to the B-girl who went viral for her unorthodox dance moves. The animation consists of 44 photos of her dancing at the Olympics that she created near Frazier Park, about an hour and a half north of Los Angeles.
Pearson is known for his light paintings, which he creates using a long-exposure photography technique and a moving light source to “paint” onto a background of dark sky and bright stars. The San Diego native travels throughout California to find the best locations for his light paintings.
“It was a tribute to her, for doing her thing, and it wasn’t a criticism or anything like that,” he said. “I thought she was an icon and people would remember that.”
But some viewers have used the video to continue the negative discourse surrounding Gunn, a dancer they say did not deserve to be at this year's Olympics.
“This was way more impressive than the original performance,” read one comment, which received more than 3,000 likes.
Artist Darren Pearson created an animation of Rachel Gunn, aka “Raygun,” as a tribute to the B-girl who went viral for her unorthodox dance moves.
(@dariustwin)
Others called it insulting to the spirit of the Olympics and demanded that she be held accountable for “stealing an Olympic seat.”
“There are so many people with so much more talent that their own company shouldn’t be allowed to hire them,” another comment read.
Pearson said he had no intention of directing any negativity toward Gunn and created the animation as a way to have fun with his viral performance.
“People took the ball and ran with it like they usually do,” he said. “She did what she did and I do what I do.”
Gunn spoke out against the hate surrounding her Olympic performance, saying in a video posted to Instagram on Aug. 15: “I didn’t realize that would open the door for so much hate, which frankly has been pretty devastating. While I went out and had fun, I took it very seriously. I worked really hard preparing for the Olympics and I gave it my all, I really did.”
Gunn began training and competing as a B-girl in 2012, after watching an all-female dance battle. By day, she is a lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, where she earned her bachelor's and doctorate degrees in music and cultural studies.
Some came to her defense in Pearson's Instagram post, condemning the negative comments and praising Pearson for choosing to turn her performance into a work of art.
“I’m glad to see someone making art instead of making fun of her,” one comment read. “I’d hate to be in the public eye these days.”
