Boris LABBÉ

Born 1987 in Lannemezan, France
Based in Madrid, Spain

Originally a graphic artist but in recent years has been exhibiting experimental animated videos as installations that transcend existing concepts of space-time. A feature of his works is that they are screened in an endless state in which the beginning and end are connected to form a loop. The results remind us of the fact that devices from the prehistory of cinema such as the phenakistoscope and the zoetrope presented moving images as fixed patterns based on a circular structure. As well, one could say that Labbé has given new potential to video loops as a form of expression given that they are rarely considered these days on account of their highly primitive nature.

Rhizome is a work created as an extension of this methodology, but the way the subtle crystalline structures parade endlessly across the screen calls to mind Norman McLaren’s Canon (1954) and awaken a film historical curiosity. It is no doubt surprising for viewers to learn that the images, which at first glance appear to be computer generated, were actually drawn by hand.