Above all, Non-scene is the result of a performance. While one performer draws abstract lines in charcoal, another performer sitting on a stage recites song titles one after the other, creating a new text that is sometimes humorous, sometimes poetic. Movement and sound come together. The television set broadcasts the recording of this performance. The stage here is a miniature theatre set that echoes the questions of representation and roles implied by the title of the work. The term non-scene refers to a gay man who chooses to reject the codes of the queer community in order to fit in as closely as possible with heterosexual references. Jimmy Robert asks his audience about playing a role more generally. Is it just a posture? Is it a political act, or is it apolitical? The political dimension of language and its expressions occupies a central place in Jimmy Robert’s work: “Who is speaking? And who speaks for whom? To forget these questions when looking at my work would be to omit a major facet of it.”

Text written by Audrey Pellerin as part of the partnership between the École du Louvre and Lafayette Anticipations – Fonds de dotation Famille Moulin.

Exhibitions