The work of Franck Lesbros is essentially video, yet in some ways, one could say that it is a hybrid between installation and sculpture. His films take scenery into ingenious models that are activated as puppets for the shoot. They are the only protagonists of an «atmospheric» disturbing action, backed by precise editing. Volumes are activated as and when the narrative, backed up with simple special effects, which compose a poetic vocabulary of its cinematic language. When he describes his work method such as the duration of film shootings during which almost anything can happen, Lesbros reconciles Ed Wood and Beckett. As a result his videos are marked by ongoing freshness of experimentation." (Excerpt text by art critic Guillaume Mansard.)
InLight Empire, 2015 HD video, 8:49 min Sound : Charles Fichaux Sound editing : Franck Lesbros​
Sea of Instability, 2017 HD video, 10 min, music by Tenniscoats​
How do these films, featured in the Spotlight, relate to each other?
Those films connect to each other because they explore an artificial environment, it is about the concept of simulation, the questioning of what is real and what is fake.
How would you define in context of your work the merge of science and art
They go really hand in hand, because each video is a study of phenomena in natural environment. Sea of Instability is a study of the sea, InLight Empire a study of architectures of fear, Olision Valley about the creation of a world, The drawing Experience is a attempt to explore a tunnel vision which can be related to the afterlife enigma.
These films seems almost like experiments or voyages into unknown lands. What do you hope your audience feels or experiences by watching them?
Every film is a sound and visual experience, a journey through particular space and environment. I always hope the viewer will have a sensorial experience.
Olision Valley, 2014 HD 16/9 video, 5:50 min​
The Drawing Experience, 2015, HD video, 8:30 min
In The Drawing Experience, the viewer is experiencing different crossings of spaces, or tunnels, but it could be also a trip into drawings which are made from paper, ink and lights. Each tunnel is different, but all made by paper, the common element of every space is water and light. Every space is made through a folding process of a simple leave of paper.
The Making of "The Drawing Experience", 2014, HD 16/9 video, 8 min
Interview with Franck Lebros conducted by Alexis Gambis, Executive Director of Imagine Science Films.
About the author
Franck Lesbros's artistic output consists essentially of video, yet in some respects it might be said that it is akin to a hybrid form between installation and sculpture. His films take as their décor ingenious models, which, like puppets, are activated during shoots. They are the leading characters of a disturbing “atmospheric” plot underwritten by precise editing. Lesbros’s work over the years persistently involves collaborative elements and consists of cross-artistic research and engagement with musicians. It implies working in conjunction with different cultural institutions that challenge the status quo of showing art as an end-result. Rather, Lesbros undoubtedly contributes to the notion of profess that champions the open-ended structures of live participatory events. These live filmings of his video works become a lively critical contribution to artists and musicians coming together in happenings. Since coming to New York from France, he has successfully produced two live events where he collaborated with musicians in two venues in New York: Nurture Art and Pioneer Works. These events were part of critical answers to the art that is made only for consumption. Lesbros continued to work in this mode: embedding many levels of cooperation and incorporating technological developments of the video as a medium as well as concerns about human creativity and freedom. He is devoted to artistic pursuit of the interconnectedness of the human and non-human realms and has a holistic, open-minded approach that incorporated diverse experimental approaches.
