6 minute read

Marie Ségolène

Next Article
Jeanne Jo

Jeanne Jo

Marie Ségolène holds a BA in Creative Writing and a BFA in Intermedia

Cyberarts from Concordia University (Canada). She completed her MFA in Performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019. Marie has exhibited work in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. In 2018, she took part in “Conversations in Contemporary Poetics” , curated by Jeffrey Grunthaner at Hauser & Wirth in New York City, and performed as part of the Performance and Noise Biennial: Tempting Failure in London. Her fifth artist publication, entitled “Dehiscence” (2018), was published with the support of Anteism. Marie’s writing has been featured in The Wine Zine, Dinner Bell Magazine, and Desuetude Journal. Her first poetry manuscript, “Yellow Berries” , was designed and published by Grosse Fugue in 2021. In June 2021, Marie directed a short performance film, entitled Rouge Gorge, that was exhibited at the CUE Art Foundation in New York City as part of “In Longing” , a group exhibition curated by Anna Cahn. Rouge Gorge was awarded Best

Advertisement

Experimental Film by The New York International Film Award and was selected for the Berlin Indie Film Festival. Marie is currently based in

Montreal, Québec, where she recently founded Maurice, an apartment gallery which showcases the work of local and international performance artists.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. It took place in January 2022.

GM: What was your path to becoming an artist?

MS: I completed two undergraduate degrees at Concordia University in Montreal, and then went on to do a Masters in Performance Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Being an artist feels like a constant process of digging and dwelling, failing and starting over, and eventually making something. In times of nonproductivity, I always ask myself if I am still an artist.

GM: Your studio practice is comprised of performance art, text, and film. Why do you work in these mediums?

MS: Usually my practice begins with a text. The choice of medium is really a choice of strategy to better embody or materialize certain aspects of the questions I am trying to dig at. My practice is research based; the themes that interest me are psychoanalysis, divinity, desire, and trauma. I have always had a very interdisciplinary approach to my work (book making, performance, video installation, film, sculptural installation, and writing).

GM: You mentioned that you’re “digging” for something when feeling uninspired – do you know what you’re digging for?

MS: I am really interested in cognitive dissonance, gaps of memory, and the mental fragmentation that happens as a result of trauma. My first experience of grief was traumatic and transformed my way of assimilating information. (Continued)

It simultaneously led me to my methodology. I am not interested in direct linear narratives, but in the multitude of experiences that results when a text is ruptured. Poetics offer that. I approach installations much like poems, [as the] references are collaged together to guide to viewer into the uncanny. I am interested in moments of complete surrender and how we might open ourselves to the divine. Sometimes I think that what I am digging for is honest love, and my work is an archive of my process towards finding it.

GM: What was your experience creating and shooting Rouge Gorge (2021)?

MS: That was an incredible experience! That film was made for the “In Longing” exhibition at CUE Art Foundation in New York City, curated by Anna Cahn. Rouge Gorge was initially pitched as an installation piece that included a live activation. The work was conceptualized months before the pandemic, so during the preparation of the work, Anna and I were in constant conversation about the possibility of the live piece being presented. Eventually I decided that the best way to present the work would be through a film. It helped that I started working in film [after moving back] to Montreal, and the medium was increasingly on my mind. Prior to Rouge Gorge, my experience in film was video documentation. There was no fragmentation of the actions or narrative, and there was no editing. For Rouge Gorge, I adapted the script, which included, amongst other things, 100 love fragments. Initially I got my close friend, fellow artist, and longtime collaborator, Santiago Tamayo Soler, to co-direct the short. We then put together an incredibly inspiring team, with Hugo Coderre as Director of Photography and Sacha Auclair on sound. (Continued)

Marie Ségolène, Still from Rouge Gorge (2021)

Marie Ségolène, Still from Rouge Gorge (2021)

This text that was written over six months prior to filming, and when I stood naked by the water, guzzling down the wine and spitting it out like a fountain. I really felt out of my body. It is incredible to work with people that respect your vision and share their knowledge [in order] to enhance what you are trying to put out into the world. Performance can feel so surreal since it is so fleeting, but when you are in it, you are so full of life and desire, it feels like a prayer.

GM: Could you explain the premise of Rouge Gorge?

MS: Rouge Gorge isn’t a linear narrative. Initially, it was an attempt at shaping my own myth of origin through a worm digging to the center of the earth. I was wondering what we might learn about death if we were to embody a worm. Somehow it transformed into a love letter, like most of my work does.

GM: In your opinion, what are some common roadblocks that female filmmakers deal with in the industry?

MS: The film industry is definitely sexist. It feels akin to any other white male dominated field in that it is a culture of machismo and ego, and there is very little place for sentimentality. Women in the industry learn to be thick skinned quickly. I have so much admiration for women that work on set; they inspire me to develop self-confidence and strength of character. Personally, my experience on set is limited since I am mostly off-set. That being said, I do not consider myself a film maker but a performance artist. Making Rouge Gorge was my first experience directing a team in that capacity. Making Rouge Gorge was incredibly intimate; there was a lot of trust, support, and respect. It was transformative and incredibly challenging.

GM: What has been your experience opening your apartment gallery, Maurice?

MS: Opening Maurice is a dream come true. It has been both an opportunity for me to meet new artists and friends, and a chance to open space up for work that pushes outside of what we usually encounter in Montreal. Apartment galleries are a staple of Chicago art culture, so I was excited to approach that concept in my hometown. The second exhibit opened on February 12th; it is Alegria Gobeil's first solo show and curated by Philippe Bourdeau. Maurice is space that is dedicated to performance practices, or practices that are about the body. I am looking to display ephemera, research, or archives of performance work. The intimacy of the space allows for difficult work to be discussed in a more profound way, and I am so grateful for the long conversations that we have been having with visitors around my dining room table every Saturday afternoon. We are open every Saturday from 12-6 PM and by appointment. We can also do virtual visits for folks located outside of Montreal.

Documentation of Rouge Gorge (2021). Photo by Gabriel Veniot

GM: What are you currently working on in your practice?

MS: I am currently working on a performance piece. I suspect it will take me a few months to flesh out the idea and source the needed equipment. Hopefully I can submit the proposal to some places in Montreal now that the city is reopening.

This article is from: