In this video triptych, various rhythms are created by different parts of my body. Unlike the installations Caméra orchestra and A Cappella, in which the monitors are arranged side-by-side, in Instrumentalisation they are stacked on top of each other. Each screen projects a part of my body, captured at a right angle with a stationary camera. The three HD cameras are positioned vertically, one on top of the other at the level of the part of the body filmed. Like a brainteaser (or body-teaser), this triptych is composed of various pieces that interconnect, on both a semantic and formal level.
The first part simply explores the diverse sounds and rhythms that my body can generate. With my hands, for example, I perform a kind of drum roll on my stomach; I also clap them together, tap my cheeks and open mouth, creating resonance chambers. Finally, I tap my feet on the ground, producing dull thumping sounds. In the second part, I alternate images of my “drum-instrumentalized” body with the assembly of the sculpture Batterie de batteries. My intent is not to record the mounting of the sculpture but rather to make a link between the transformation of the body into a musical instrument and the metamorphosis of the musical instrument into an art object. The spatial structure of the triptych, coupled with the temporal possibilities of the video montage, result in a formal interplay in which the images of the body and those of the drum kit appear at the same time, but on different screens, forming a “golem” of shapes and sounds. The speakers of each screen are stereo, but because they are triple-sourced and superimposed, they create a small acoustic mass that moves from left to right and top to bottom.
The artist thanks the Conseil des arts de des lettres du Québec for the support
