BLOW OF HAPPINESS / video installation 

 
Technique: Video Screen (Video Full HD) + fan 
Duration: 18:04 min, loop
2012
 
 
The work consists of two objects, the screen and the fan. They relate to each other, oppose one another. The screen shows the video portrait of a young person, whose mood is affected by the fan. The fan is adjusted to work for 45 seconds and then to stay in a standby mode for the next 45 seconds. 
 
While the fan is not running, the girl is calm and she behaves as if she is in front of the mirror. At a time when the fan starts to work and produces the wind, it disperses the girl’s hair and changes the expression of her face. She becomes happy and she is smiling, she feels very comfortable and enjoys the wind. At a time when the fan stops blowing, the smile disappears and the person stops being cheerful – like a child whose toys are taken away. This mood oscillation illustrates a schizophrenic situation, increasingly common in modern society.
 
The wind in the video is much stronger than the one that is produced by the fan, so the girl´s face becomes deformed at times. This paraphrases everyday life, where situations and information are distorted, exaggerated and sensationally interpreted. This work relates to the boundaries between virtual and real, where these two phenomena meet, mingle and become the modus vivendi!


In collaboration with: Sarah Beaumont
Thanks to: Simon Thiou

Photo documentation by Marc Domage
Set-up at FRAC (opening evening), Pays de la Loire, France

Still frames from the video
Set-up at FRAC (opening evening), Pays de la Loire, France

Video documentation
Set-up at FRAC (opening evening), Pays de la Loire, France