Un Voyage en Hétérotoie – FESCH.TV

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

Description of the work :

Voyage en Hétérotopie
(English: Journey to Heterotopia)

Context of the film:
This film was made during the first confinement from March to June 2020, in Switzerland,
design, drawings, inspirations, manufacturing, film, images, by ©Florian H.A. WICKI.

Florian H.A. WICKI:
„At that time, everything was closed and my means of making it were very limited.
I have always had a huge interest in drawing and especially in trompe l’oeil jewellery design.

The world of jewellery is a part of me, but also of my family.
I am, in fact, a jeweller and designer of jewellery and accessories. It is my job and my passion.

I am also very close to my paternal grandmother.
She is a woman with a beautiful presence, a beautiful aura, a great education. She loves beautiful things.

During the confinement, I was with her, in her house.
I had to make a film to present my semester’s work for my Master’s degree in Fashion and Accessories Design (HEAD-Geneva-Switzerland).
I didn’t have access to jewellery workshops to make my pieces. So I deliberately used trompe-l’oeil drawing – paper and gouache – to make a collection of interesting jewellery to be seen in film.
I was also privileged to have my grandmother agree to model for my film and paper jewellery.

Film concept:
I quickly studied a concept that a French philosopher – Michel FOUCAULT – explained in the 1960s.
This concept spoke of utopia (utopia in theory does not exist), of a utopia that is however locatable.
Heterotopia, i.e. a locatable utopia, would be created on our memories, our feelings, our objects that tell a story, forbidden places, imaginary places, etc.

My creation of film and jewellery (in this film) evoke :
a journey between a bourgeois-aristocratic past and a present with a contemporary aesthetic
my grandmother’s past, her social origins
the journeys she made throughout her life
an aesthetic that could reflect her
dreamed jewellery, which may have existed
the ephemeral aesthetics of paper, drawing, creation, and life
etc.

Setting the scene:
During 2 min 08, we find the universe of my grandmother,
In an imaginary journey, through an artificial forest, in her home.
We see my grandmother posing and wearing my creations from the 2020 confinement.
We are invited to get to know her better and to discover her.
We can dare to ask ourselves if this is a real or imaginary moment.

Techniques :
For this film, I used only what I had at hand.
For the jewellery, I only had paper, gouache, scissors and a little bit of know-how.
As for the film, the scenography, I had a flat, plants, furniture, my grandmother, and a single mobile phone. I didn’t even have a computer. It was slightly archaic, but so rewarding.

Music :
I have chosen a very special music: “Les P’tits papiers” (English: the little papers).
“Les P’tits papiers” is a French song written by Serge Gainsbourg in 1965 for the singer Régine (Régina ZYLBERBERG).
This song is about paper, the different uses of paper, their stories, but also the stories of love or sorrow that they can represent.
This rhythmic music allows us to immerse ourselves in this journey into heterotopia, with a taste of the past while remaining very current.

Conclusion:
I loved doing this work. It is out of context, because a confinement situation is so special and can be depressing.
Fortunately – despite some difficult moments during the academic semester – I was very lucky to be surrounded by my grandmother.
She played the game, even though she is already 81 years old. We worked a lot together, but also laughed a lot.
This film is also a way of paying tribute to her.

I would like to thank my grandmother for her support and generosity, the HEAD-Geneva Switzerland for the follow-up, the courses, and the provision of important speakers. „