Gail Pickering, 'Hungary! And Other Economies', stills.
Is that a Pierre Cardin logo on your revolutionary helmet? In 'Hungary! And Other Economies', Gail Pickering's recently unveiled three-part project currently showing at Jousse Enterprise, Paris, the artist's intuitive, promiscuous rereading of history lets itself take a flight of fancy upon a mysterious set of coincidences, one in which the fashion designer's retro-futurism finds itself equally at home as a cast of porn-actors reenacting 'Marat/Sade', Peter Weiss' seminal 1963 play.
The home in question is the Chateau Luberon, the site originally used by the Marquis de Sade to stage his plays, and a place now owned by none other than Cardin (in fact now the site of the fashion mogul's theatre festival). Orchestrated by the artist, the hired actors' performance create a tableaux vivant navigating anew through the site's latent connections via the characters' roles, reactions, and, strikingly, the performers' own lives.
'Hungary!' (2006), a film projected in Pickering's gallery installation, served as the mirror backdrop to a specially commissioned performance, 'Push-ups', held on 17 March 2007. Professional porn actors wearing costumes bearing counterfeit Cardin logos extend the artist's induced interpretation of the play, its elaborate historical and ideological threads, and their performance as recorded on the film.
As in some of her previous projects, Pickering's method is here in a way more involved with casting and juxtaposing than with directing per se - in her work, 'actors' are given freedom from their characters. Often not knowing their script before their performance begins, they are asked to participate in the construction and definition of the project both within their roles and outside as actors. Pickering's challenging performance study loosens reins to question our contemporary assumptions about the awkward idea of artistic direction and control.
To contextualise the exhibition further, Pickering has curated a special programme of historical film screenings reflecting interests from her practice - including works by Raymond Pettibon, John Latham, Richard Kern and Squat Theatre. The films will be screened at Jousse Enterprise Saturday 31 March and 7 April. Pickering will soon be heading to China on a fellowship from LAFVA/Film London Award; look out for an update on her next project soon to be posted on the site.
Lupe Nunez-Fernandez
GAIL PICKERING, 'HUNGARY! AND OTHER ECONOMIES'
To 13 April 2007
Jousse Enterprise
24 rue louise Weiss
75013 Paris
T: +33 (0)1 53 82 10 18
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