16mm video projection, looped.
This film is a collaboration with artist Julian Feeld.
Thanks to Sati Leonne-Faulks, Angie Porisse Stathakis, and Fredj.
Mathilde told Julian about the day her dog died, how she watched it try to dig itself into a giant pile of wood and debris, seeking death, pushing itself into the next world, literally “searching for death”.
He asked her if she wanted to combine concepts and create something together, seeking to create a dynamic piece that might embody the desperate writhing that underlies organic life. The title of the piece “Le Chien de Mathilde Cherche à Mourir” has a double meaning: both “Mathilde’s dog is trying to die” and “Mathilde’s dog is killing herself in the process of seeking”.
They built a 3m X 6m structure in the forest, composed entirely of vines, branches, wood, and moss. Julian performed the role of the dog.
Mathilde filmed with a 16mm camera.
The sound is composed of two audio tracks. One is the recording of the actual sound of Julian’s panting during the performance, recorded from inside the structure. The other is the same audio track pitched down several octaves. It gives it an unnerving quality of multiplicity, as if the body contained legion inhabitants, or was some universal body. Or just a dog.
