Irrational City

The video shows a burlesque character, wearing a work suit and a funny hat, endlessly and desperately swimming in grey water.

Numerous populations in Asia, in Africa, in South America are obliged to emigrate towards safer countries. Economic, racial, political or religious reasons put their lives in danger and they engage in illegal and precarious exile. Numerous wrecks off Italy are daily reported in Europe, as well as in certain islands of the Caribbean. Beyond these current events, the video references banishment and exile to the sea, as well as slavery, evoked in both Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa and the disaster of Jola (in Senegal in 2002).  

Philippe Astorg was born in the Sénégal in 1958. He lives and works in Annecy, France. He studied painting, then worked as a graphic designer for ten years. Returning to fine art, he now works with performance and video production. In 2004, he received a diploma in dance. In addition to creating his own videos, he works with handicapped adults to produce music and dance shows.

He creates comic characters who cross diverse situations. Through exaggerated, mimed gestures and expressions, he reveals their clumsiness and maladjustment to the modern world. His work has been shown around the world, most recently in Mexico, Cuba and in Boston (U.S.).