preface to a cartography of an imagined country

2008, installation, 2 video loops (103 min 56), variable dimensions/

Work inspired from my reading of Ecuador, Henri Michaux’s travel diary written in 1928 after a journey to my country of origin. I inversely re-wrote a chapter of the book – that is, from the end to the beginning, from right to left, and from bottom to top. Two cameras filmed my hand simultaneously as I wrote, one in full shot and the other in close-up. This material was later edited backwards, so that the video reveals the impression of a pen withdrawing the ink instead of leaving it on the sheet of paper. Thus, the text disappears while it ‘unwrites’ the words, leaving the pages completely blank.

This work is part of the series: “cartographies”.