Paroles d'oiseaux à Toro Muerto

The rediscovery of the early works of video artist Chantal duPont, who died prematurely in 2019, continues to stir deep emotions. Paroles d’oiseaux à Toro Muerto serves as a prelude to a range of themes she would explore more fully in her later work. First among these is her interest in foreign cultures and communities fighting for their survival. Her first video, Bons becs de Chine (1984), was filmed in China. She later made Llìvia sans borne (1992) and Toute langue fait feu (1993) in Catalonia, followed by Pemesu (2007) in Bali. A “multifaceted” artist, duPont sought to capture, through moving images (video), the experience of wandering through art installations combining painting, sculpture, and photography. Her video Paroles d’oiseaux à Toro Muerto is a perfect illustration of this approach. It is worth noting that Toro Muerto refers to a Peruvian archaeological site renowned for its remarkable Inca petroglyphs. In this work, duPont presents ephemeral projections on unexpected surfaces, including fabrics, bodies, and water. Painted, colourful forms resembling reimagined petroglyphs come to life before our eyes in landscape settings, as though the installation itself were animated by strange rituals. Finally, Chantal duPont also collaborated with several women performance artists. In this video, Lynda Gaudreau becomes a body-screen, put to the test in a sequence depicting a ritual sacrifice by fire. A landmark in her practice, this video invites us to explore the broader body of work that established her place in the history of experimental video.

Mario Côté
Artist, filmmaker specializing in art documentaries and experimental video
and Associate Professor at UQAM