2nd Ghetto Biennale 2011

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ARCHIVED WORK OF PARTICIPATING ARTISTS & SCHOLARS

Floris Schonfeld

“Discours du Fou”

The project “Discours du Fou” took place during the 2nd annual Ghetto Biennale, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. For the project Floris Schönfeld attempted to hold a series of conversations with the Vodou spirits, or ‘Lwa’ as they are known in Haiti. The topic of these conversations was faith and the act of believing itself.

During the Biennale two small private and one larger public vodou ‘seremoni’ (ceremonies) where held at the ‘Hounfour’ (temple) of ougan Papada in the Grande Rue area. During these ‘seremoni’ Floris had the chance to speak to a number of ‘Lwa’ including the guest of honor at the larger public ‘seremoni,’ Erzuilie Dantor. These conversations where documented on video and 16-mm film and this material forms the basis for an installation and a filmic essay that explore the act of believing. A short cut of the film was shown at the outdoor screening event held during the Biennale. Both the film and the installation will be shown in San Francisco in May of this year.

Reflecting on the experience of the project and the interaction with the spirits the project was an interesting failure. The discussion did not yield the infinite wisdom that Floris was after. It did however challenge the boundaries of Floris's own belief system and force him to see that answers are sometimes best stumbled on by oneself. Thus the “Fou” in “Discours de Fou” refers not to the spirits or their mediums but the fool's errand that artist Floris Schönfeld embarked on in the project.

As Maya Deren writes in her introduction to “Divine Horsemen, The Living Gods of Haiti,”

“I had begun as an artist, as one who would manipulate the elements of a reality into a work of art in the image of my creative integrity; I end by recording, as humbly and accurately as I can, the logics of a reality which had forced me to recognize its integrity, and to abandon my manipulations.”

concept and execution: Floris Schönfeld
in collaboration with: ougan Papada
camera: John Treffer
translator and line producer: Casseus Junior

with the participation of: ougan Jorel, ougan Rodeney, manbo Lossita, manbo Minouche, manbo Solange, ougan Pouchon, ougan Sony, manbo Denise, manbo Pretta, monbo Ketty, monbo Immacula, manbo Lenaise

project advisor: Maria van Daalen

This project was made possible by: Stroom Den Haag, The Mondriaan Fonds, California College of the Arts and Kickstarter donors

http://vimeo.com/37074826