Say What?

Let’s start with the big guy: He’s 12 feet tall and part grouse, part possum. He’s covered in fur and is wearing sneakers and a sort of body armor of small coins. A hybrid of beatboxing and scat singing is pouring through his stereo-speaker eyes.

Right. Then there’s the other character of David Ellis’s new installation, “Conversation” at Rice Gallery. This little guy measures a mere six feet and shares many of the traits of his larger buddy (though rather than coins, he’s wearing paint-splattered clothes). The same beatbox-scat mix streams from his speaker eyes and up to the giant, while both their heads nod along to this dialogue (think Herbie Hancock’s robo-fly MTV video for the ´80s hit “Rockit”). This audio mash-up is backed by thunderous beats, which come courtesy of a pyramid of 55-gallon oil drums. Some of the 200-plus drums have been covered in goatskin and fitted with electric beaters, like kick-drums. The same goes for a slew of house-paint cans. The effect is a crazy “We Will Rock You”-style thump against crazy gibberish. And the audio experience is complemented by Ellis, an accomplished NYC muralist, who’s created a sprawling, improvised wall painting of “air, water and fire” that weaves through the gallery, wrapping around the walls, windows and barrels.

The whole thing may sound a little, well, wack. But to understand the artist is to understand the art. Once upon a time, Ellis was a 12-year-old aspiring rapper in Cameron, North Carolina. A few years later, he landed a record deal. But he jumped ship for art school in NYC, where he founded a hip collaborative called the Barnstormers, who paint murals that show up on the side of buildings, barns and moving trucks. Ellis’s own work has been shown all over the world. “My favorite canvas is one that moves,” he says. “I love painting trucks. The context always changes and it’s more democratic — you don’t have to go to a gallery. The art comes to you.” A pop artist who’s bringing the soloist, MC, DJ and producer approach to art, Ellis says he’s “just trying to make some art that’s relevant today. It all comes together. And you can dance to it.” Exhibit runs through March 5. 6100 Main. For information, call 713-348-6069 or visit www.ricegallery.org. Free.

Jan. 14-March 5