The Incantatory Magic of the Symbolic Gesture | Video

In “Le merveilleux et le théâtre du silence” (1965), Marie-Françoise Christout states that “the ideal mime recreates the world through the incantatory magic of the symbolic gesture”. This work depicts a direct interpretation of the concept of imprisonment, in response to the current pandemic situation, through a mime performing in a never ending tunnel. Questioning claustrophobia in a broader spectrum (from our over-use of technology, to the typical image of the mime stuck inside the box), repetition and sound distortion enhance feelings of oppression and uncanniness. The mime is like a child, communicating exaggeratedly without language, trying to express deeper emotions and to stimulate the unseen.