Laure Prouvost (Croix, Lille, 1978) is a French artist based in London, U.K. and Antwerp, Belgium. Through a careful engagement with image, sound, and language, the artist builds a complex universe, in which she merges fiction and reality, as well as artistic and literary references. Prouvost creates new narratives with her videos, which are carefully edited with a quick sequence of successive shots. The sound, which usually includes the artist’s own voice, generates subtle wordplay creating a dynamic between reflection and interaction that directly interpellates the viewer. Prouvost’s works, often humorous, establish relationships between language, image, and perception. This exhibition includes three videos from different periods, all of which evidence the artist’s interest in experimenting with image, sound, writing, and the spoken word. These elements pervade her work, generating various interpretations and establishing relations with the other artists exhibited at the museum.
In Swallow (2013), the viewer is bombarded by a series of montages that unfold into sensual images and sounds. Prouvost pays tribute to painting through the representation of bathers that reference imagery of the virgin in Quattrocento paintings.
Like Swallow, the work Going Higher (2014) confronts the viewer with a series of successive images from different sources. The artist’s hands push toward the camera or to the edges of the screen, exceeding its physical limitations.
It, Heat, Hit (2010) juxtaposes image, text, and immersive sound, generating a synesthetic and sensory effect through a disorienting narrative.
CURADORIA Maria Inés Rodriguez, Adjunct-Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, MASP.
Throughout 2019, the videos presented here are part of MASP’s Women’s histories, feminist histories. The program highlights the production of women artists of different nationalities, generations, and backgrounds, promoting discussions about feminisms and representation in the arts. Previous exhibitions were dedicated to Jenn Nkiru, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Laura Huertas Millán, and Anna Maria Maiolino.