MAKSAENS DENIS
VIDEASTE
PLASTICIEN
Erotes 2, 2020
Ecran video de 10" monté sur une plaque de métal
Does resisting make us men ?...
3 channels video installation on a metal and iron structure representing the voodoo spirit Ogou Badagri
Dim. : 2M H x 2M70 L
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In this video installation I represent a social panorama with a rotating layering of video sequences. The video is played on a triad of screens forming a religious altarpiece. The design of this structure represents the warrior loa (voodoo spirit) Ogou Badagri properties, ie. iron, fire, resistance and war.
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The video triptych is composed of 3 synchronized films of 26'00 ”26.
The 3 screens are mounted onto a structure made of wood and iron.
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Bruno Lachapelle (LeRobot) composed the soundtrack for the installation. He added various sounds that I had previously recorded such as voodoo ceremonies or political discussions or market and street sounds in Port-au-Prince.
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Does resisting make us men … ?
This question has a double meaning : Does resisting make us more masculine ? What about women or other minorities who suffer and resist for centuries without feeling more male? To answer this question we sometimes see in the video of the work a nude dancer who evolves with gracious movements.
The other side of the question would be this : in a country like Haiti which experience a succession of abuse of power by its leader and witch offers no service that could truly provide a well-being to the population, in a society that survives from day to day, that is left to itself in many ways and that knows suffering, resistance, fighting in all its forms, does resisting make us humans ?
The question remains open
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First exhibition :
Mammon, Museum fine arts, Split, Croatia, June 26th - July 30th 2018.
Curator : Sasha Dees
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Second exhibition :
Exhibition Resist at the French Institut of Cotonou for the exhibition Resist organized by Laboratorio art contemporain, November 2019.
Love is not a crime
Flat screen on a wood cross
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In many countries people in the LGBT community are discriminated against or even sentenced because of their sexual orientation. But if the focus is on sexual orientation, we most often forget about love. The love that people can have for others of the same sex. And this love, they want to condemn it. But love is not a crime. In Haiti, too, it is not easy to live one’s love. This video installation wants to show what we sometimes feel in a country where society can be tolerant, indulgent, accepting difference, loving, one day and hateful, intolerant towards certain members of their society, another day .
In a flat screen set on a wooden cross, is projected a video of faces of men and women face or profile. Alone or in couple.
In the room is also projected videos of a Haitian decor mixed with other images worked all the way to abstraction.
The sound composed by LeRobot that accompanies it is a mix of ambient electronic music, sound effects of Haiti and voice on issues concerning LGBT in Haiti.