False Friends / An Ephemeral Video Library

The logic of mainstream media coverage of events is usually based on constant renewal, in order to keep the spectator interested. They therefore have a relatively limited lifespan, which is why information is sometimes forgotten or goes straight into the archives. At the same time, however, it is clear that the events themselves evolve and gain in complexity, and continue to exist outside the main media circuits.

The advent of digital platforms, fostering new communications networks and blogs, has helped to attenuate the impact of the mass media by creating alternative modes of access to information. This is precisely the context in which the “ephemeral videotheque” project can be interpreted.

The works brought together in “False Friends / An Ephemeral Video Library” feature stories from the margins of history and mainstream media. Using tension, humour and testimony, these micro-narratives work to shed light on events outside the history books and mainstream media.

This selection of films made by artists from all over the world offers a fragmented description of the real that is rich in nuances. In a sense, these works highlight dissonance and failings of synchronisation, perhaps even shaking our convictions or preconceptions. They are interested in the reality that we know, but do not describe it in a classic, conventional way. Nor do they seek to mediate it, or to make it easier to understand by simplifying it. They are “false friends” – inadequate translations of events that still contain echoes of reality.

Curator: Marta Ponsa

The exhibition “False Friends / An Ephemeral Video Library“ is supported by Les Amis du Jeu de Paume.

It was produced with the participation of Taiwanese Cultural Centre in Paris, the Polish Cultural Institute in Paris, and the Centre National des Arts Plastiques – Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication / FNAC, Paris.

Acknowledgments
Art: Concept, Paris; Bugada & Cargnel, Paris; carlier | gebauer, Berlin; Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw; Galería Juana de Aizpuru, Madrid; Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris; Galerie Jan Dhaese, Ghent; Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, Paris; Galerie Michel Rein, Paris; Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich; Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris; Galleria Gió Marconi, Milan; gb agency, Paris; La B.A.N.K, Paris; Maureen Paley Gallery, London; Murray Guy Gallery, New York.