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I wasn't crying but the ground wasn't still
Maïder Fortuné

Wednesday, April 4 - Saturday, April 21, 2007

Presented in conjuction with Images Festival

In a contemporary apartment two young girls play a strange game: one stands in the centre of the room and blows on her friend to keep her hovering above her. An extreme tension forms between the girls, a dependence suspended from their lips. Entirely absorbed by their act, deep in concentration, captivated by hallucinations and rituals, the girls open a door to magical forces welcoming the extraordinary into the apartment. The domestic interior is transfigured, the usual objects (from technological tools to kitchenware) stray from their ordinary functions. A forest in early morning: dense boughs, stagnant waters, moss carpets, and dug up roots scroll in slow motion traveling shots. Between tree trunks in the middle of a pond deep in the woods one can see uncertain shapes; antlers emerging from the haunting pond. The double projection juxtaposes the two spaces. On one screen, the flat, cold designed interior protected by white walls, a space of rationality and clarity; on the other, an exposed exterior, the forest, a space of fantasies, that are host to early childhood fears and perpetuate its symbolic games far into the adult unconscious. The line between the two is erased by the similarity of the camera movements, enabling a series of combinations: the child blowing echoes the wind, the shapes of the forest echo the kitchenware, the sound track of one screen shifts into the other, spaces become porous, weaving a canvas of magical contemplations.

Maïder Fortuné lives and works in Paris. After study in the Jacques Lecoq International School of Physical Theatre in 1998, Fortuné created her own theatre company where she produced several happenings and pieces involving her own body. Her exploration of body, movement and space led her to work in video and sound, explorations begun during her studies at Le Fresnoy National Studio for Contemporary Art, based in Tourcoing, France. Fortuné's work has evolved toward the realization of performance-based multimedia installations.

WARC Gallery gratefully acknowledges the support of its members and the city of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Trillium Foundation and Department of Canadian Heritage.