Métrage Variable
Métrage Variable is a performance on the idea of variation. It combines a video projection with a solo presence, between stand-up and mutant music hall.
It is built around a set of units (images, sounds, devices). This material is used in six short performances, following a simple rule : every unit has to be used.
Respecting the constraint results in various semantic pirouettes, performed with inegal elegance but in great transparency. Métrage Variable is a contract between the performer and the audience, which is going straight into the wall – while singing.
After a few performances here and there, this was my first proper “show”, in 2004. As disappointing as it was for those who were crazy enough to program it, the idea was to never do the same show, while keeping the same material until it became meaningless. For years, all my attempts at video art found their place here, and some were recycled in other projects (Bonjour Concert, &&&&& & &&&).
From gig to gig, it was sometimes fantastic, sometimes shabby, but always deeply experimental and punk regarding method.
It toured in France with a few incursions in Amsterdam, Groningen, Zagreb…until 2011, when it got its first class burial.
