Mémoires rustiques

There are times, moments, when the statement “Tell has existed” works like a balm on cracked skin. The actual legend of William Tell is rather difficult for us. It is full of ambiguity, vague and uncertain, but its representation is well known: Tell as a protective family man, defender of the fatherland, fighter for the rights of the weak and oppressed, proud embodiment of freedom. Thanks to his polyvalence he is successfully used both for and against the same theme. Most of the Tell monuments were executed in the 19th century, in a period of emerging national consciousness. The Tell cast in bronze undoubtedly manifests its existence and immutable security. He makes us believe in himself as a hero.

In the video projection, various historically proven Tell representations of cows are licked away; a process from certainty to vagueness, to possibility. From a purely technical point of view, a projection has already to do with evoking images and opens up a new, imaginary (thinking) space through the thrown, or rather reflected image, less secure and less permanent than a monument. A space through time.
The large projection gives the moving image of the licking cow mouths an additional sensual quality. These grow into monstrous monsters through the filmic close-up view. The licking away of the salt silhouettes of the Tell figures is reminiscent of softening encrustation. On the sound level, excerpts from cattle auctions can be heard at the beginning and end of the credits. Questions of existence, transformation, dissolution also here.