FLORENCE CAMPBELL STILLS FILMS ABOUT CONTACT
une archéologie du présent ←
These photographs are stills from the film 'Une archéologie du présent' which you can see in the film section. It is a film about two archaeologists searching for a childhood feeling they have lost: a certain sense of density, the feeling of being aware of time and space around them in this very moment - presence. They intuitively start looking for answers in the past, unearthing ancestral objects which will lead them to carry out archaic gestures indicating what the people from the origins of time dedicated their time to: taking care of their homes and their bodies, transforming materials, slow daily life tasks needing the help of another person to be carried out... Their relationship with objects and materials seemed to be more profound, aware and sensual. Maybe their ''now'' really was more tangible and their feet deeply anchored in the sand of the present moment. The photographs in this album show the first part of the film called Monde de Sable (the world of sand). The second part of 'Une archéologie du présent' is Monde Rouge. The archaeologists have accessed a red world through the repetition of archaic actions that were implied in the objects unearthed. This strange place seems to be that of the beginning of times. We see the hands of creators preserving things. They are touching objects and materials more profoundly, sincerely acknowledging their existence. They are cultivating a more sensual relationship to space characterized by nurturing, preserving, taking care and building (creating things). It seems this is the natural and fondamental way we exist as humans on Earth. "Dwelling is building (creating)" - Heidegger In the last part, Monde Bleu we don't see the archaeologists anymore. We see through their eyes. It seems that in the blue world they have acquired a slower, more contemplative and hypnotic relationship to the reality surrounding them. As the past constantly perforates the present, Monde de Sable, Monde Rouge and Monde Bleu appear as three different places and times which interweave and meld. All objects in the film were specifically created for the narrative of the film. They are made of clay, sand, flour and salt. Among others these are some of the artefacts seen in the film: - The bowl of desire (le bol à désir): created to manifest your desires by writing your wishes on a paper and inserting them into the holes of the vessel (8'17'') - A morter with various orifices and its pestel: to crush, grind and store materials (5'55'') - The armpitcomb: (4'58'') - The thumbpresser: created to make ointments with your fingers (2'47'') 2019

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