Les Femmes en noir, 2002
Video PAL, colour, sound, 12'
This video was recorded during a “Women in Black” meeting, a pacifist woman’s organization.The fundamental question of this video is that of the patriarchy, and consequently of paternalism and authority, but above all the complex role played by the mothers and wives during the war. “In Serbia, the family is like the country,” says the artist who offers an understanding of history through intimate family stories. And what is said in this video, highlights the contribution of each woman as much as each man during the Serbian-Albanian war.
In the video Woman in Black [Femmes en noir] we see the women who listen but never the orator. This directorial approach introduces a tension between what is said and the capacity to absorb this information. To show these women who listen attentively inspires the spectator in turn to listen. Beyond the self-critical discourse, the video also presents a series of portraits of women and creates a clear link between Florence Lazar’s current use of video and her previous photographs. Through these two forms of representation she experiments with one of the crucial problems of the portrait: distance. Most importantly she deals with the essential question of identity, of individuality and of the replaceable, echoing the ideological arguments that underlie this “globalized local conflict”. In this film the portraits reveal the face as the origin of speech. And the violence of this discourse, said behind closed doors and only among women, can thus be seen as the result of ten years of war.
Pascal Beausse
Translation: Silvia Sabino
