THEATRE DE L’INCONNU
In Théâtre de l’inconnu (2020, 2025), a faltering narrator stumbles through the rehearsal of her own tragic lifecycle: she is a Saturnid, a winged insect belonging to the family of giant silk moths. Borrowing from modern-day nature documentaries, ancient scientific texts and literature, her account from a factual perspective is inconsistent and dubious at best, as she meanders across vernaculars of truth and knowledge. Originally produced as a 2-channel video, the narrator’s monologue is juxtaposed by a lush tableau of time-lapsing flowers that bloom in relentless display, as they are pollinated by a hand (and battery) operated robotic insect. Intermittently, her rehearsal is punctuated by outbursts of operatic song, specifically, “Poveri Fiori” (or “Poor Flower”), a Romantic period aria in which the protagonist (a lovestruck Adriana Lecouvreur) dies on stage after inhaling from a poisoned bouquet of flowers. Simultaneously tragic and satirical, – minimalist and monumental, the video weaves an unstable and circuitous narrative, meditating on themes related to the body, language, self-representation and feminized death. The title of the piece evokes early modern scientific texts (such as Theatre of Insects [1658]) and architectures designed for viewing (such as operating theaters and entertainment venues). Produced as both a single and two-channel video installation, Théâtre de l’inconnu explores how Western practices of sight, description and representation have produced and sustained a concept of nature amenable to industrialization and exploitation.
Excerpt of “Théâtre de l’Inconnu” in the exhibition “La machine qui enseignait des airs aux oiseaux” presented at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, 28 November 2020 to 4 april 2021.
Still image from “Théâtre de l'Inconnu“ 2-channel HD video & sound, 13 minutes, 2020.
Still image from “Théâtre de l'Inconnu“ 2-channel HD video & sound, 13 minutes, 2020.
View of “Théâtre de l’inconnu” in the exhibition “La machine qui enseignait des airs aux oiseaux” presented at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, 28
November 2020 to 4 april 2021.
View of “Théâtre de l’inconnu” in the exhibition “La machine qui enseignait des airs aux oiseaux” presented at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, 28
November 2020 to 4 april 2021. Photo: Guy l’Heureux.
Still image from “Théâtre de l'Inconnu“ 2-channel HD video & sound, 13 minutes, 2020.
SStill image from “Théâtre de l'Inconnu“ 2-channel HD video & sound, 13 minutes, 2020.View of “Théâtre de l’inconnu” in the exhibition “La machine qui enseignait des airs aux oiseaux” presented at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, 28 November 2020 to 4 april 2021. Videography: Philippe Léonard.