Video occupies a particular place in the work of Thomas Hirschhorn, complementing his use of 'lay-outs', the term he employs to designate his installations and the representation systems he has created. His videos take on meaning in relation to his use of drawing or sculpture, as with 50/50 à Belleville (50/50 in Belleville, 1992), Les monsters (Monsters, 1993) or the 1995 series composed of Robert Walser Video, Antifaschistiche Aktion, I Will Win and Thank You. These four videos can be seen as a series in terms of construction and formal elements. They are all filmed with static shots in Hirschhorn's studio. The frame is conceived like that of a painting. The duration is determined by the length of a piece of rock music, somewhat like a video clip. The sound quality is poor; it has not been added during the editing but recorded live in the studio. Hirschhorn always privileges meaning over a formal quality which might embellish the reading of his works: just as he uses materials considered non noble by traditional art, he transmits the music on low-quality equipment. The artist uses his collages and drawings in the background and shows himself in protest situations: raised fist, banner, bare chested like a guerrilla. Each video may thus be read as a performance. In Thank You, Hirschhorn appears bare-chested against a green background inscribed with title of the work in thick letters. The artist beats the time of a Bruce Springsteen song by slapping his right cheek while holding one of his collages in his left hand. Atone point, he puts the collage in the other hand and hits himself on the other cheek. His bearing remains stoic, even under the supposed pain provoked by the slaps. The action of hitting his cheek in fact alludes to the Biblical precept telling the Christian to 'turn the other cheek' if he is struck on his right cheek.

Laetitia Rouiller

Translation Miriam Rosen