COMINGin out
In July 2019, the closing festival of the generation XII at the institution P.A.R.T.S of which I am a member exposes different creations, repertories, performances, conferences and exhibitions by students.
After having presented "A/R" a year before, a video installation in the heart of a scenography, I decided this time to let the video speak for itself without any scenography; to let the filmed and edited images carry a narrative and information. Thus was born "COMING in out".
The installation is presented during twelve consecutive days and located in the boys dressing room of the institution, a place for the boys to change, to undress, to think of no form of performativity, to use this place of intimacy only to prepare themselves to be. This room, which can be defined as a simple cabin, suddenly seems to me symbolic in relation to the content of the theme I am taking up.
The room is emptied during the time of a short residency. Three television sets are installed in the space. Two opaque glass windows do not let any silhouettes appear outside, but only the light of the day. Leading the spectator to enter the space at a different time with a different light: an orange room at its opening gets darker as the hours pass, ending the day in total darkness.
The televisions introduce a short documentary/film where faces, words, news broadcasts, personal video archives and body to body images alternate.
The men in this video are imposed in front of chilling news of terrorist homophobia. How to explore one's sexuality when one knows it is condemnable in more than a third of the countries in this world? Extracts of demonstrations and testimonies prohibiting any expression of sexual desire towards the same sex run in dialogue with simple intimate portraits of men that I met during an hour, a day, a month, a year, a decade.
Autobiographical elements are inscribed in yellow letters, revealing words such as : Space . Normativity . Privilege . Indoctrination . Justification . Death Penalty .
The verb ‘COMING out’, a verb of action, leads the person who experiences it to leave a space, to free themselves from all the heteronormative shackles which constrain them. Leading to the following question: In which space does the person wishing to experience ‘COMING out’ land? Where are they coming out ? Where are they coming in ?
CREDITS AND MENTIONS
V IDEO MAKER/ED ITOR/
ALBAN OVANESSIAN HE.HIM/THEY.THEM.
W ITH THE PARTICIPATION OF/
ROBINSON CASSARINO HE.HIM
YUN PEI HSIUNG HE.HIM
ADRIAN SANCHEZ NUNEZ HE.HIM
JENS PEETERS HE.HIM
AND RAFAEL VOETS HE.HIM/THEY.THEM.
MUS IC/
"MOAN" BY RAAR,
"LANG" BY FM3 AND CHRISTIAAN VIRANT.
PRESS ART ICLES FROM/
THE GUARDIAN, DW, BBC NEWS, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
DOCUMENTARY EXCERPTS FROM/
VICE, CNN, L'EXPRESS, BBC, NEWS.
TECHN ICAL SUPPORT/
STEVEN PEETERS HE.HIM
SÉBASTIEN TIXADOR HE.HIM
JEAN BAPTISTE PORTIER HE.HIM
AND MAUREEN BATOR SHE.HER .
PLACE/
P.A.R.T.S GXII FESTIVAL.
CURATED BY/
TESSA HALL SHE.HER AND JONAS GINEIKA HE.HIM.
DURATION FOR THE EVENT/
FROM THE 2nd UNTIL 13rd OF JULY 2019.
V ISUAL CAPTATION FOR THE EVENT/
IVAN LUCADAMO HE.HIM.
EXCERPTS FROM THE VIDEO INSTALLATION
EXHIBITIONS
02-13/07/2019 - GXII PARTS FESTIVAL P.A.R.T.S/ BRUSSELS/BELGIUM
06-10/11/2019 - PINKSCREEN/BRUSSELS QUEER FILM FESTIVAL CINEMA NOVA BRUSSELS/BELGIUM