In Transmedia Love
The story of Ela & Dimitri
A creation by Lise Couzinier and Cyril Slucki
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In Transmedia Love highlights the opening of creative thought
beyond any restriction to a single domain of art. In this sense,
the concept references Dick Higgins, who criticizes the confinement
of artists within essentialist categories tied to mediums.
The pieces were organized as sequences suggesting a real love story,
where the characters Ela & Dimitri cross the barrier of their
narrative representation.
INTRODUCTION
Excerpt from the exhibition catalog
After their first meeting, Lise tells Cyril she's leaving for a month-long trip. And so begin the classic SMS exchanges:
L
Lise
A few days and messages later, Lise 2 appears, Cyril 3, then 6. Each pseudonym is an opportunity to reveal a facet of their personality, to take on another voice, another mask to speak their own truths.
Cyril 3
Fearful in love
Cyril 4
Would like a physical meeting
Lise 2
Wants to stay single
Lise 5
Is jealous of Lise 7
From encounter to encounter, we learn.
Beyond a schizophrenic game, it's a way to protect themselves. Lise and Cyril thus expose their desires, anxieties, and ideas. This relationship is for them a daily exchange where each awaits the other's response, whether in the form of a message, a photo, a video, a drawing, or a webpage to consult.
The culmination of this transposition process is the creation of the couple and entity Ela & Dimitri.
INTENT NOTE
Ela and Dimitri reflect on the meaning of their project and share their questions:
ELA'S EMAIL
Sunday, July 24, 2011 17:14
My love,
Our imagined and imaginary artistic adventures permeate me, and my reality, though walled in, takes on the air of great beautiful escapes.
I see, I see us, I dream, I muse, I perceive us... I imagine...
I imagine us and I live, I live again.
These days and nights spent without your presence nonetheless unite me to you.
Let us prepare my return like a birth.
Art waits for no one; it is the energy to seize, as is the moment.
I perform, abandon myself to all that is possible, my candid spirit finds its master guide again: creation.
I love us.
Ela
PITCH
The Pitch places the audience in the role of active witness to the non-drama about to unfold.
They have been corresponding by SMS for a month. Without ever speaking or seeing each other, Ela & Dimitri develop a romantic and creative relationship.
Their exchanges favor immediacy and sublimate their first meeting in a hotel where they will experience their love and creativity, without ever getting close.
Then, they plan a rendezvous and agree on a location: L'Insolite.
They still have 7 days to discuss it and imagine all possible scenarios.
SMS
Four color prints, 40x60 cm on light boxes
Correspondence excerpts
SMS Preview #1
SMS Preview #2
SMS Preview #3
SUBLIMATION
Eight B&W photos - 30x40 cm and 60x40 cm
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
TOGETHER
Two B&W photos, mounted on dibond 150 x 100 cm, suspended face to face
Photo 1: Installation overview
Photo 2: Installation detail view
Trace of flesh sometimes on a wall, trace of a flight where matter
becomes lighter for the other. Here two images are suspended
as if on a thread. A particularly perilous situation —
that of avoiding a physical encounter. Each immerses themselves in search
of the other in a possible materialization of the spirit
of the place where they find themselves.
What do they see, Ela & Dimitri, each lying alone, gazing at phantasmagorias descending from the ceiling? "a sword
of Damocles above their heads"? the inevitable possibility of
romantic failure? an avalanche of light-angels coming
from 7th heaven?
THE WAIT
Mental projection
Immersive environment representing the mental space of waiting
View of the installation - Scroll to discover
This installation represents the mental space of the protagonists during their waiting period, blending visual projections with a stage-like device.
The main device invites visitors to immerse themselves in the characters' state of mind. Waiting becomes an immersive experience where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur.
The visual elements projected onto the surfaces reflect the thoughts, memories, and anxieties that inhabit Ela and Dimitri during this period of creative tension.
RUMORS
Video and sound piece retracing the protagonists' journey
Documentary film — The parallel trajectories of Ela and Dimitri
Sound composition accompanying the installation
LOVE 2.0
Chatbot and interactive installation exploring digital romantic interactions
WE'LL SEE
Texts on canvas in Helvetica font
« We'll see what happens when we see each other. We'll see... »
Helvetica Neue — Medium
Print on canvas — 120 x 80 cm
THE COCKTAIL
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Anamorphosis. An altered perception experience.
A cylindrical anamorphosis reveals Ela's hidden thoughts when one looks at its reflection in the cocktail glass. The green liquid serves as an optical filter to simultaneously distort and reveal.
PATRICK AND NADIA WATCH TV
Series of three TV screen photos – 50x60 cm
« Ti amo »
Patrick Sébastien — La Fête de la Chanson Française (1997)
Nadia Comaneci — TV interview (1996)
COLLABORATIVE LOVE STORY
Continuing the romantic and creative dialogue as an exquisite corpse
Facebook group created with internet users
Teaser: Exquisite Corpse
Invitation for internet users to participate in the project and continue the romantic dialogue
1.2K views
March 2015
SMS: The final installation
Presentation of the installation featuring 392 participant messages
846 views
April 2015
The exquisite corpse, a literary game invented by the Surrealists, involves having a sentence composed by several people without any of them being able to take into account the prior contributions. In this project, internet users collectively built a love story, fragment by fragment.
ON THE AIRWAVES
In two separate recording studios, they communicate
Recording - Remote communication
Remote communication - Radio recording
00:00 / 00:00
October 12, 2014
18:42
Radio France Studio
Ela and Dimitri in the midst of a radio discussion, physically separated but united by the airwaves
The two artists, placed in different recording studios, can only communicate through radio waves, creating physical distance but unique emotional proximity. This broadcast explores the dynamics of remote communication and perceptions altered by the absence of body language.
WHAT IS LOVE TO YOU?
Photos and responses from exhibition visitors
Christian, 57 years old
Jo, 42 years old
Michel, 63 years old
Amandine, 27 years old
In this interactive installation, visitors were invited to answer the question "What is love to you?". Their reflections were captured and incorporated into the exhibition, thus creating a collective and evolving work on the perception of love in our contemporary society.
LOVE TO CREATE, CREATE TO LOVE
Performance at the finissage
LOVE TO CREATE, CREATE TO LOVE
BEFORE THE PERFORMANCE
It is 7:00 PM, time for the exhibition finissage. Lise (Ela) and Cyril (Dimitri) are wearing headset microphones; their speech is broadcast through loudspeakers.
EXPLANATION OF THE DRAW
DIMITRI
Welcome to the draw for the best idea to end the exhibition.
Hello Ela.
ELA
Hello Dimitri.
We will now hand out the sheets for you to participate in our draw for the best idea to finish the exhibition.
DIMITRI
The winner will receive a prize of inestimable value.
ELA hands out the sheets.
DIMITRI
Also for the upcoming draw, we need someone to count the votes by show of hands.
IDEA N°1: LET'S DISMANTLE THE EXHIBITION
ELA
Here is idea number 1: Help us dismantle the exhibition.
DIMITRI
Before we continue, do you have any questions about the exhibition?
ELA
No?
ELA hands out tools to the audience. DIMITRI takes down the painting “Je nous aime.”
ELA
So who votes for Idea N°1: Help us dismantle the exhibition?
Raise your hand to vote.
IDEA N°2: HOW TO END THE STORY?
ELA
The next idea is to think together about a possible — or not — ending to the story of Ela & Dimitri.
DIMITRI
Now that Ela & Dimitri have met, will they get married? Have children? Then divorce?
ELA
Why end it? As Charles Baudelaire said, “Only stories have no end”!
CYRIL
But careful — if we ever finish the story of Ela & Dimitri, don't we, the creators, risk ending our own story?
LISE
That's a risk worth taking.
DIMITRI
Who votes for Idea N°2: End the story?
IDEA N°3: MAKE AN ENDING SONG
ELA
Let's move on to Idea N°3. Every good credits sequence has its music.
DIMITRI
If you'd like, we can make one together...
ELA
Let's move on to Idea N°3.
DIMITRI
We'll start with a binary rhythm and try to resonate with the conceptual aspect of the subject.
For example, if I say “Ela,” you reply?
DIMITRI plays a rhythm on a drum and gets the audience to sing.
DIMITRI AND THE AUDIENCE
Ela… Dimitri.
Dimitri… Ela
transmedia…
LISE
Wait Cyril, stop right there — we're not at Club Med!!!
CYRIL
Art is for everyone, and music is popular!
LISE
Indeed, but art is above all a fight.
IDEA N°4: THE ARTISTIC FIGHT
CYRIL
But a fight against what?
LISE
It's a political fight.
CYRIL
Art has nothing to do with politics, especially certain ones... But I agree, we must fight.
I have an idea, let's choose another song.
Music from the film Rocky — “Gonna Fly Now.”
They each put on a boxing glove. The music stops.
CYRIL
Don't think we're going to fight each other.
LISE
Our real fight is to sell.
CYRIL
The truth!
ELA
I propose we vote on this idea, and in the meantime we'll change into “sellers.”
IDEA N°5: THE AUCTION
DIMITRI
And now here is Idea N°5 — the auction.
ELA shows the painting “Je nous aime,” as if to announce the next round.
NARRATOR
This auction is for the benefit of the Ela & Dimitri foundation, which fights against illiteracy and typos in text messages.
ELA
We begin therefore with this superb painting “Je nous aime,” starting bid €200.
Any advance?
DIMITRI
The proceeds from the sale will be deposited into our Luxembourg bank account, for tax reasons.
CYRIL'S FATHER
I'll bid €400...
CYRIL'S MOTHER
I'll bid €800...
CYRIL'S FATHER
I'll bid €1,200!
CYRIL
Sold! For €1,200!
Thanks Dad.
CYRIL gives the painting to his father.
SUMMARY OF IDEAS
ELA
Before moving to the draw, let's summarize the ideas.
Ela begins, Dimitri finishes
NARRATOR
Idea N°1 – Dismantling the exhibition.
Idea N°2 – End the story?
Idea N°3 – End with music?
Idea N°4 – The artistic fight?
Idea N°5 – The auction.
ELA
Do you have any other ideas?
DIMITRI
I do — we all get naked and make love.
ELA
Let me clarify — getting naked for artistic purposes.
DIMITRI
Yes, of course, my dear Ela.
Now, to know the result of the vote, we are going to leap into the future.
THE FUTURE
Excerpt from the theme music of the TV show “Apostrophe” (Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff).
BERNARD PIVOT
Tonight, I welcome the famous artist Ela Peterson.
Ela, after 40 years of career with the late Dimitri Palunyenkov, how would you sum up this journey in a single sentence?
FUTURE ELA
“Love to create, create to love” — that is the sentence I engraved on the tombstone of my beloved Dimitri.
BERNARD PIVOT
Could you tell us about that famous exhibition in 2012, which had a very special finissage... a great moment...
FUTURE ELA
Sorry? (Bernard Pivot repeats the question)
Yes, Ber...tran...nard? I remember very well our finissage proposal on November 17, 2012. We had decided to end the exhibition with a big family photo with the audience.
BERNARD PIVOT
Thank you, Ela.
BERNARD PIVOT
Thank you, Bertrand. Finally, Bernard.
Ela dozes off on the table.
THE CHARACTERS' PARADISE
Sound illustration: the sea, sound of waves.
Dimitri takes Ela's hand.
DIMITRI FROM THE HEREAFTER
Come, Ela, the characters' paradise awaits us.
You'll see, it's happiness there.
There are lots of people like us.
And above all, stories that never end.
They exit hand in hand...
THE PHOTO
Lise and Cyril return.
CYRIL
Oh, you're still here?
Lise and Cyril greet and kiss certain people in the audience as if seeing them for the first time.
LISE
I think we can applaud everyone for participating in this performance.
CYRIL
Yes, let's take a photo!
LISE
Let's take the family photo.
PUBLIC IN LOVE
Palais de Tokyo - 21/03/13
A Deep Media performance where we attempted to transform ourselves into human avatars, with participants able to take possession of our souls and bodies.
With the participation of:
Multimedia creator, founder of Lexis Numérique studio, creator of the "Alt Minds" project
Member of the Observatory of Digital Worlds in Human Sciences, author of "When Works Become World" and "Fans and Geek Culture"
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To the crowdfunding contributors
To Bruno Flaven for his article
Graphic design: Etienne Mommaerts
Texts with help from Ludovic Bablon
Technical advisor: Rachid Jeghaibel
Framing: Odette Monnier
Exhibition photographs: Laurent Grino
Radio interview: Brigitte Rouzieres
L'Insolite and notably Papis Gadio
Gabrielle Hayot, Rachel Hemet, Myriam Laville & Barbara Petitjean