Erect statues ... Why? How? Where to look?
Erect statues to show the jobs of the people of a nation. Why not. But behind this project, what it the hidden meaning ? What statues are the deepest sign of ? What are they talking about, really ? Power ? Art ? Beauty ? End of the world, because they show as eternal... Are they an immortal mirror of men who made them, or they are supposed to represent ? Are they just alive ?
The kaleidoscope, a figure made up of mirrored replications of the same image, offers a very “organic” vision of things. Like a visual metaphor for cell division, it opens up a realm of perceptions and emotions far beyond the mere decoration it might at first appear to embody. This figure, very rare in films, has always questioned me, which is why I’ve been exploring it in film for a long time.
It’s been a nice surprise to see animated kaleidoscopes flourishing on screens over the last four or five years, in film and series credits in particular. I invite you to read the manifesto text on the practice of animated kaleidoscopes, which I wrote ten years ago, in 2014: « Thinking about moving kaleidoscope image ».