Artist Natacha Nisic explores the remnants of the First World War through the lens of two stories, two civilisations and two deeply-etched experiences of time and of pain. The first story looks at North American Indians, in particular members of the Hopi tribe, many of whom had enlisted and fought on the battlefronts in Picardy and the Somme in 1917 and 1918. The second is an archaeology of daily pain chronicled in the clinical journal written by German art historian Aby Warburg, member of a leading Jewish banking family who had famously exchanged his right to take over the bank for all the books he would ever want. During the many months of the ruthless war, Warburg collected hundreds, even thousands of images and texts as he strove to understand the ideological underpinnings of the brutal conflict. His work took its toll on his mental health.Natacha Nisic’s film is a symphony that pays tribute to mankind, it is a film-manifesto both in form and substance.
This film was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, under the auspices of the Centre National des Arts Plastiques, within the scope of the commemorations of the Centennial of the First World War. It is listed on inventory of the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain. A film by Natacha Nisic.Texts by Natacha Nisic and Annette Becker. Published with the Centre national des arts plastiques. Edited by Gilles Coudert. Released in January 2018. Bilingual edition (French/English). The DVD has been awarded the First World War Centenary label.
Seconde Vague, Arte-La Lucarne, 2018
