Guillaume Paris

16 x 9 cm
Greeting card (offset on cardboard).

40 x 20 x10 cm

Taxidermied doves (floor piece).

Dimensions variable
Three dressed mannequins, naphthalene, pedestal, framed color photograph (Fashion by Grace Nguyen).

Approx. 6 x 4 x 3 cm each

Painted pebbles, pedestal.

20 x 15 x 2 cm

Vacuum packed sausages, printed label.

180 x 160 x 80 cm

Display case & mixed media (each word in the sentence is the brand name of the product displayed under it -from left to right: cigarette/soap/margarine/cleaning pad/dog food).

20 x 12 x 5 cm each
Black & white photographs, plexiglass frames.

Installation view .
Milk.

250 x 180 cm
Installation view.
« Carpet » painted directly on concrete floor.

80 x 20 x 15 cm each

Porcelain (floor piece).

Permanent video (DVD). Monitor on the floor. Color, sound.

Video shown on a monitor on the floor, in a corner of the room. The central figure is “de-animated” (inanimate), while the water surrounding it flows continuously. A perfect loop simulates the movement of the water and a linear sound recording (noise of flowing water) accompanies the image. The schematic drawing (simple shapes, bright colors), combined with the homogeneous and regular sound of the water flowing softens the morbid character of the subject: a drowning. The inscription of the image and the sound within a protracted time frame, with neither beginning nor end, hampers our understanding of the event and reduces the narrative dimension of the scene. The positive symbolism of the fountain (life, eternal youth) combined with an evocation of death, lends the image dynamic tension.

180 x 100 x 100 cm

Cement, pump, milk (100 litres).

Video shown on a monitor set on a pedestal. The animated character walks an endless circle whilst continuously staring at the viewer. The circular movement it describes in space mirrors the temporal video loop of which it is a product. The fixed stare, associated with a pendulum-like movement conjures up a fascination akin to hypnosis.

The perpetual reiteration of the action does away with any temporal element: of the thousands of steps the owl is condemned to take there remains no trace; no erosion of the depicted ground.

95 x 75 x 15 cm

Light box, Duratrans print.

200 x 100 x 3 cm (variable)

Laundry detergent.

Permanent video (DVD). Monitor on pedestal. Color, sound.

with Daniela Attansio

The video features an Italian yogurt dating from 1991 on the packaging of which is a photographic representation of a woman. A fungus growth is visible on the top left corner of the packaging and the resulting stain covers in part the model's portrait, defacing it slightly. Every twenty minutes, the face on the packaging speaks for approximately ten minutes. The model talks, in Italian, about her childhood, her private life and the relationship she entertains with her own reflected and photographed image. The biographical dimension and the time-span of the narrative contrast both with the organic time frame of the perishable contents and the cyclical one of the manufactured commodity (produced, bought, consumed, destroyed). Presented on a monitor placed on a base, the piece has the same height as the actual model.

This work was presented as part of the exhibitions Withering (Quebec, 1998) and Still Withering (Paris, 1999) which comprised the following three elements (a man, a woman, a child):

Untitled (Janus)

Withering II

30 x 23 x 23 cm

Stratified wood, automobile paint.

Permanent video (DVD). Monitor on small pedestal. Color, silent.

The video features the packaging of Pears’ Soap, which shows a photographic representation of a child. It is a tradition for this English brand to replace the face of the little girl on its product annually, chosing her from photographs sent in by customers. In this video, Miss Pears 1996 was filmed in real time and superimposed back onto the original packaging. In the resulting video, the child model attempts to hold the original pose and smile. The video is slowed down by half and the various movements are stretched over time (eye movements, blinking, yawning etc.). This silent gaze creates a permanent, animated presence. Presented on a small monitor placed on a small base, the piece has the same height as the actual little girl.

Withering is a H.U.M.A.N.W.O.R.L.D. project.

12 x 4 x 3 cm each

Painted plaster, 64 pieces.