Nicolas Cilins, 1985
Art
Jury report
In a dark, unlit space, a video is projected onto a tilted screen on the ground. It shows a succession of rapid acts filmed with a point-of-view GoPro in an apartment at night. During each one of these acts, some of which recall filmed performances (Bruce Naumann, Vito Acconci, Paul McCarthy), descriptions of what we have just seen appear on screen. “Wash your hands with this magic liquid”, “Roll some dirt into small earth balls”, “Rest an onion on your stomach”, … These interjections were dictated to the artist by a Muslim holy man “in order to help him create a new work”. Here, Cilins does away with the boundaries between the madness of obsessive compulsive disorders, the documentation of performances and mysticism, taking us on a fitful journey into the solitude of his nights within the confines of his flat.