I speak the night
2023, Video HD, colour, sound, 1-channel, 19:24 min., 16:9
Composition with cyanotypes, sound and text (French/English)
Music: Eunice Martins
Lyrics: Alejandra Pizarnik (Buenos Aires, 1932–1972) and Claude de Burine (Paris, 1931–2005)
The work begins and ends with a shot of a snowy mountain under a full moon, which renders it into a glowing majestic mountain. As starting and as end point, this image symbolically represents the concerns and leitmotif of I speak the night: A reflection on perception, imagination and on artistic expression of the collective real, external world, in relation to the subjective inner life of each individual.
The basic structure of the video rests on three strands, which are poetically interwoven into a singular composition consisting of: Photographic images by the artist, improvised sound by a musician and poetry, by two poets.
The visual plane consists of a series of countless cyanotypes constituted by still photographs, supplemented with surreal video sequences. Music sets the rhythm and simultaneously opens up wide sound spaces. The symbolic and enigmatic language of the poems – engraved into text panels – combines in an associative manner, with the images and sound.
At the core of the work stands, metaphorically, the darkness of night; one which conceals much, in contrast to the light with the sense imagery of sun and full moon. In the analog cyanotype process, images emerge from darkness (from the night) as it were, into the light, as handmade unique pieces with a characteristic deep blue colouring: dreamlike and in yearning reminiscences of places, spaces, nature, landscapes, animals or human bodies.
The pictures bear witness to a physical, presence of being. At the same time, they appear as sublime, multilayered soul-states in connection with natural elements, such as water and fire.
In utilising the cynotype in a media based interplay with video, the artist explores experimental aesthetic possibilities. Due to the magical power of the images, in an absorbing combination with music and text, she succeeds in creating an impressive plasticity, sensuality and sense of meaning. The work casts a spell over the viewer and inevitably sets our imagination in motion.
