L’envers des corps
Un tapis en savonnerie

2008 — 15′45″ — HDV

The request came from the ‘Gobelins’ workshop: create a ‘decorative’ video project—contemporary evocations of the decor of the past—to be projected on the ceiling of the ‘Grande Galerie des Gobelins’, to mark its reopening. With the help of Flavio Cury, François Rouan created six projections, in the form of ‘braidings’ (‘nattage’): photographs of the reverse side of the splendid and imposing ‘Tentures du Roy’ are tattooed with superimposed images (the bodies of models). At the heart of the film is the recurrent motif of the hand: interlaced images, reflections of hands, great creatures, ancient drapes, and the living hand-movement of contemporary models, evoking the timeless gestures of the tapestry weavers.

Extract from L’envers des corps, Un tapis en savonnerie: