Pinocchio(s)
Exhibition
Exhibition with variable geometry.
The first exhibition took place in 2017 on the occasion of the World Festival of Puppetry Arts.
Design, Makeup & Costumes : Alice Laloy
Photographs : Elisabeth Carecchio (Series 1 & 2) & Alice Laloy (Series 3 & suites)
Production : La Compagnie S’appelle Reviens
Co-production : Le Mouffetard, Théâtre des arts de la marionnette-Paris
With the support of The Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles du Grand-Est (Cultural Affairs Council, Region East France), the TJP-CDN (Theatre for Young Audiences Department – National Dramatic Arts Centre) of Alsace, Le Mouffetard – Puppetry Arts Theatre – Paris, the International Puppetry Festival of Charleville-Mézières, the Institut Français, the Alliance Française of Oulan-Bator, the Maison des Arts of Créteil, the French Consulate of Quebec, the International Puppetry Festival of Saguenay, Quebec.
PRESENTATION
Having been given the opportunity to feature on the front cover of a specialised puppetry arts magazine, I decided to explore the tale of Pinocchio. More precisely, I was especially interested by the moment in which the metamorphosis between the puppet and the human child takes place. What could the body of Pinocchio look like as it makes its transformation from puppet form to human form?
At the same time, alluding to contemporary realist puppets, I chose to play a little with the quest for realism by using some basic make-up techniques to transform my child model into a puppet.
In an attempt to capture this moment of transformation, I photographed it, and I named the photo Pinocchio 0.0.
Contemplating this photo, I realised that the image offered something that transcended my playful allusions and illusions. I choose to continue the project and repeat the process with other children, hoping to capture again this troubling instant of confusion.
Pinocchio 0.0 was the starting point of a visual research project involving several series of photos of children portrayed in puppet-like, inanimate poses.
The first series were produced in France. In the aim of reaching closer to portraying the disarticulated bodies of puppets, the following photo series was shot in Mongolia, in partnership with the Institut Français via the scheme “Hors les Murs”, and the contortion schools of Oulan Bator.
Alice Laloy