THEATRE DIRECTOR

Life is elsewhere is an exploration, in video, of the concept of “disembodiment” and of the relation between our bodies and our domestic space.

It was made working remotely with a group of twelve people during the period of Covid-19 lockdown. The project was task-based: the task that was proposed was to make three short video self-portraits: one while looking out a window, one while jumping on the bed, the last while rolling on it.

The collection of those portraits and their composite image thus builds a social space that is nothing but an illusion, a digital construct. In this new social dimension we exist only as light, intangible beings. Our presence is weightless, our bodies deprived of substance. The bodies on screen lack physical form. We see them close to each other, often sharing the same screen-space and yet they are separated.

While film does a great job in replicating sound and image, it excludes completely the rest of our senses. Our fruition of the work is therefore limited, partial and our brains are filling the gaps, creating the illusion of reality.

Life is elsewhere investigates this illusion, the sense of being together while being apart, the shared feelings of isolation, restlessness, solitude, confinement.