We had the pleasure of seeing your previous films at FID, Livepan and Exhibition Talks, both also very short films. What is the genesis of Real Time?
The idea of linking two media and, consequently, thematizing them, is a recurring theme in my artistic approach. I seek to establish an equal dialogue between the two. In my work, they are essential to each other; they reflect each other, each revealing the other’s process, but in its own language.
Real Time, like some of your previous films, was born from a collaboration, in this case with Gerlind Zeilner, a designer and painter. How did you collaborate? How important is this collaborative principle to you?
Most of the time, I work alone. I love it. But for this project, the concept was to juxtapose the medium of analog film with that of drawing, two very tactile media. A short reel of 16mm film lasts about three minutes. I already knew Gerlind Zeilner; she’s a friend, a fantastic painter and illustrator. She always carries a sketchbook with her so she can draw whenever she feels like it. So I knew that if anyone could draw a landscape in a very short time, it would be her. I shot with a Bolex, a very particular camera. You have to wind the camera mechanism about every 30 seconds. Gerlind continued drawing during this time—in the film, this corresponds to the blacks where you only hear the sound of the drawing. The film shows the drawing process, something you don’t normally see and which is quite intimate, I would say. If this collaboration worked so well, it’s solely because we knew each other and trusted each other. So the film shows the process of a woman drawing, filmed by another woman. It was important for me to focus on a collaboration between women and on women’s artistic work. In my work, I’m very interested in who writes art history and how.
In Closed Circuit, 2013, you explored the relationship between film and Polaroid photography. Here, it’s between film and drawing. What interests you about these ways of interacting?
I think a lot about the medium itself. I observe. And then correlations emerge that I see appearing. You’re right, as part of this series, I made Closed Circuit, 2013 a few years ago, where I explored the relationship between 16mm film and Polaroid photography—at the time, two dying media. 2013 marked a turning point for both formats. I included the year in the title to situate the work in the present. I discovered that with the old Polaroid technique, development took about three minutes, the same as a small roll of 16mm film. The film shows the development of a Polaroid that reveals the setting behind the camera, a woman filming—the artist herself—with her camera, often considered her weapon. It is also a film about how we perceive images. When we can identify the image, we are ready to record it. But the image continues to develop in terms of color… Our eye doesn’t distinguish these subtle nuances.
Like many of your films, Real Time was shot on 16mm. Why this choice?
I love 16mm. You think differently when you shoot in analog. And the way you film is different, mechanical. You’re truly alone with your camera. It’s extremely physical, not just because of the film but also because of the camera body, which you have to handle with care. You only know later if you’ve managed to film what you wanted. So you need a good team: yourself and your camera. It’s a question of trust again. I have two Bolex cameras. But I also shoot video. It depends on the subject. In Real Time, I make media (film and drawing) a subject of reflection. But since I film with a Bolex, the unique technique of this camera is also the subject. I place it at the center of the film; it becomes an important subject. It’s not simply a formal device; it also contributes to the substance, to the content.
Mechanical reproduction as a subject seems to be at the heart of your film. As does the body. How do you explain this?
That’s a very accurate observation. With 16mm, I always put people at the center of my work. With video, it’s more about architecture. Perhaps I use analog in its purest sense: a sequence of images that becomes a narrative. It’s always a reflection on the medium itself (as in my other films such as Livepan, “There are images because there are walls”…). Consequently, when I shoot in 16mm, the medium always merges with the subject matter.
Why this title? Could it be considered a kind of red herring?
No, absolutely not. Everything is there. The drawing process is filmed in real time. When the film stops, the drawing stops too. I didn’t edit the film in the sense of removing images. I know that’s very unusual these days, but these creative processes interest me immensely. That’s why I film in 16mm. The filming technique must be very precise; the concept is an integral part of the film, and vice versa.
Interview by Nicolas Feodoroff
