a human Interaction
It is not only our closely regarded friends that have depth, but also the stranger. In the city, we experience our neighbors by brief glances. From a single look we draw a myriad of conclusions based on stereotypes and assumptions. We have been told that staring is impolite. Yet, sometimes we desperately wish we could stare a bit longer, take in someone's face, to know where that person just came from, where or whom they are going to visit next.
Sometimes, to meet a person, all you need to do is ask (they might even agree to become part of your experimental documentary).
documentation film: ‘Talking Portaits’ (10min)
This project took place in many dimensions and I was extremely lucky to have the talented filmmaker Jeronimo Sarmiento with me, documenting the process: my film making, leading to painting, leading to interviews, to social interventions. His film ‘Talking Portraits’ (10 min) has been awarded at the Arte Non Stop Festival in Buenos Aires as well screening in December 2020 at Bogota Short Film Festival, and captures the spirit of this project.
Painting, Film and real life encounters
Beginning from the departure point of “A Human Interaction” the project considers:
A human interaction through spontaneous encounters and immersion in an environment (film project)
A human interaction through confrontation with a face (painting project)
A human interaction through a conversation (interview, and speed meetings project)
film Project “People who didn’t Meet’, documentary (10min)
My starting point for this film was talking to strangers - a stranger on the metro looking tired, a stranger on the street with yellow trousers, a stranger in a cafe. I asked them all to let me into their lives, to hear their voices and see what they would say, to film them. We are briefly introduced - and quickly led away from the lives of these inspiring and sometimes strange characters.
Research, Direction and Editing: Alexandra Wuzyk
Director of Photography: Jip Mus
Sound and Translation: Pablo Hueson
Painting project “Talking Portraits”,
Characters from the film take on a new form: giant portraits. These are live-painted over 2 weeks in June 2019, in the central location of Parc de Bruxelles. I have conversations with people passing, “Who is that?” they sometimes ask, “Somebody I met by accident” is the only explanation.
Nearby in an open studio in the Ravenstein Gallery, I collect the portraits and stories of different people in Brussels. A poster invites them to come in and share something about themselves. As they talk, their interview is filmed, and I draw them, either in the moment, or after. The sketches create an evolving collection of faces on the window.
‘Speed Meetings’ / exploring Impressions
In a particular event, all those who have been drawn, filmed or otherwise met are invited to come and meet each other, and form their own impressions of one another. A table is covered in questions and participants rotate with the aim of speaking to everybody in the room. We do eye contact exercises and absorb gazes, awkward silences, and fumbling or fluid words.
This project was supported by the organization BXL Makers with funding from the VGC (Flemish Community Comission)
Brussels, 2019
