MALE 32 videos - 32 artists (32 countries - 62 min)

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MALE

32 videos - 32 artists - 32 countries (62 min)

WHAT A PIECE OF WORK - Grimanesa Amoros (Pérou - 1)

NOTHING GETS CROSSED OUT - Myritza Castillo-Irizarry (Puerto Rico - 2)

40 WINGS, Version 2 - Darshana Vora (India - 3)

PLAY - Alessandra Arno (Italie - 4)

SUS CARTAS - Maria Rosa Jijon (Ecuador - 5)

AN EXILE IN THE MIRROR - Vouvoula Skoura (Grèce - 6)

AFTER WORK - Alli Savolainen (Finland - 7)

RAW FOLDS - Cagdas Kahriman (Turkey - 8)

MMMmmmany - Siti Almainnah Binte Ab Majid (Singapore - 9)

LESSON no. 4 and 5 - Ana Husman (Croatia - 10)

THE MAN - Maria Papacharalambous (Cyprus - 11)

THERE ARE CARICATURES…AND MEN - Véronique Sapin (France / Canada - 12)

CORPS A CORPS - Chantal du Pont (Canada - 13)

BONJOUR L'AMOUR - Sabine Mooibroek (Netherlands - 14)

EACH OF THE GESTURES TAKEN IN ITS CONTEXT - Susana Barbará (Argentina - 15)

DREAM OF A MOMENT - Yun Aiyoung (Korea - 16)

JAPANESE DON GIOVANNI TALKS ABOUT WOMEN - Hiroko Okada (Japon - 17)

GENTLEMAN - C. M. Judge (United States of America - 18)

MAN - Prilla Tania (Indonésie - 19)

DEPRESSED TRIO - Rachida Azdaou (Algeria - 20)

FLUID FLUX - Evgenija Demnievska (Serbia - 21)

WHAT DO WOMEN DO WHEN MEN GIVE BIRTH - Pélagie Gbaguidi (Benin - 22)

MAN - Alena Kupcikova (Czech Republic - 23)

UNVOLUNTARY MOVEMENT TO CREATE A FICTION OF THE OTHER AND TO SEE THIS OTHER FACING HIS OWN IMAGE - Isabel Carvalho (Portugal - 24)

THE BLUE MAN - Sabrina Montiel-Sotto (Venezuela - 25)

I DRAW MUCH MORE THAN I OUGHT TO DRAW BECAUSE IT BRINGS ME BACK YOU - Dorte Jelstrup (Denmark - 26)

MALE - Yue Liang (Chine - 27)

THE PLAYER - Fatima Mazmouz (Maroc - 28)

HOY HE ROTO TUS CARTAS - Jessica Lagunas (Nicaragua - 29)

THE GAZE OF MEN - Mónica Dower (Mexique - 30)

HOME - Bill Kouelany (Congo Brazzaville - 31)

OD DADDY - Cecilie Dahl (Norway - 32)

Concept

A man, however rich and distinguished, is worthless if he is not intelligent and good-natured.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) - Writer

Masculinity and virility have seen their codes evolve throughout history without women playing an active role in this process. The novelty of our time lies in their direct intervention in the ongoing changes, combined with the greater visibility of feminist demands.

Since the wake-up call of the #MeToo movement in 2017 and the concomitant spotlight on feminist movements, there seems to be, as Judith Butler puts it, a "trouble in the masculine." While the first four waves of feminism focused on demanding women's rights (voting; reproductive rights, the status of women; expanding these demands to women of all countries), the fifth, the one we are in today, focuses directly on male behavior with the aim of freeing them from the virile injunctions that weigh on them. Their lives, as well as those of women, will be all the sweeter and lighter.

"The virile myth seeks to resolve the insoluble contradiction between the desire for omnipotence and the realities of male impotence. There is clearly, in the pursuit of such dreams of bodily power, a dead end for the virility that is searching for itself today. […] We will therefore adhere to the Freudian warning: voluntary renunciation is better than endless mourning."

Jean-Jacques Courtine (Histoire de la Virilité, co-edited with Alain Corbin and Georges Vigarello)

In art, representations of masculinity have been marked by a certain homogeneity that reinforces stereotypes. However, masculinity, of course, is not a monolithic notion but a set of social and cultural constructs that have evolved to varying degrees over time depending on the context and country.

In 2009, when the theme Male was proposed to them, the artists positioned themselves as observers and interpreters of masculinity. They reverse the commonly assigned roles: man, represented as the active subject, becomes the object of study and representation.

1 - THE MASCULINE PRINCIPLE

Man, by exercising arbitrary power over woman, only degrades himself.

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) - Philosopher, Woman of Letters

Since the Paleolithic, our societies have been governed by a principle of domination of one sex over the other. Individuals' perceptions of the qualities of women and men are asymmetrical: if I say that reasoning is considered a feminine faculty, while emotion is a masculine domain, I will quickly be contradicted. Conditioning begins at a very early age, and many mothers are not the last to instill in their sons that their abilities are naturally superior to those of their sisters. Having grown up and evolved in societies where representations of masculinity reinforce male dominance, the artists of FL'Art have chosen to observe stereotypical behaviors.

Him

WHAT A PIECE OF WORK de Grimanesa Amoros (Pérou - 1)

PLAY de Alessandra Arno (Italie - 4)

AN EXILE IN THE MIRROR de Vouvoula Skoura (Grèce - 6)

JAPANESE DON GIOVANNI TALKS ABOUT WOMEN de Hiroko Okada (Japon - 17)

MAN de Prilla Tania (Indonésie - 19)

MALE de Yue Liang (Chine - 27)

THE PLAYER de Fatima Mazmouz (Maroc - 28)

THE GAZE OF MEN de Mónica Dower (Mexique - 30)

HOME de Bill Kouelany (Congo Brazzaville - 31)

About Him

The artists of FL'Art have intimate experience with masculine norms. Humor allows them to defuse the tensions inherent in the issue of gender relations and creates a space for open dialogue.

NOTHING GETS CROSSED OUT by Myritza Castillo-Irizarry (Puerto Rico - 2)

LESSON no. 4 and 5 by Ana Husman (Croatia - 10)

EACH OF THE GESTURES TAKEN IN ITS CONTEXT by Susana Barbará (Argentina - 15)

WHAT DO WOMEN DO WHEN MEN GIVE BIRTH by Pélagie Gbaguidi (Benin - 22)

MAN by Alena Kupcikova (Czech Republic - 23)

UNVOLUNTARY MOVEMENT TO CREATE A FICTION OF THE OTHER AND TO SEE THIS OTHER FACING HIS OWN IMAGE by Isabel Carvalho (Portugal - 24)

Without Him

Other videos offer an exploration of love in a melancholic way. Intimately linked to the passing of time, memory, and loss, they invite us to reflect on the fleeting nature of romantic relationships and their vulnerability in the face of illness and death.

SUS CARTAS by Maria Rosa Jijon (Ecuador - 5)

I DRAW MUCH MORE THAN I OUGHT TO DRAW BECAUSE IT BRINGS ME BACK YOU by Dorte Jelstrup (Denmark - 26)

HOY HE ROTO TUS CARTAS by Jessica Lagunas (Nicaragua - 29)

2 - NEW MALE IDENTITIES

Masculinity is a cage we put boys in.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (1977-) - Writer

By creating works that portray fragile, moving men, or those confronted with destabilizing situations, the artists adopt a compassionate perspective, demonstrating the complexity of masculine identities and the contradictions within them. The tenderness emanating from the videos subtly and effectively challenges social norms.

And Yet Vulnerable

Vulnerability is a dimension of the human experience that is never associated with virility. Contrary to the virile norm, masculinity now allows for the possibility of recognizing oneself as vulnerable. Men who incorporate so-called "feminine" qualities such as valuing moral strength over physical strength, accepting emotions, caring for themselves and others, and being happy fathers can be described as "masculine."

40 WINGS, Version 2 by Darshana Vora (India - 3)

MMMmmmany by Siti Almainnah Binte Ab Majid (Singapore - 9)

CORPS A CORPS by Chantal du Pont (Canada - 13)

DREAM OF A MOMENT by Yun Aiyoung (Korea - 16)

GENTLEMAN by C. M. Judge (United States of America - 18)

DEPRESSED TRIO by Rachida Azdaou (Algeria - 20)

FLUID FLUX by Evgenija Demnievska (Serbia - 21)

An Alternative Masculinity

The artists of FL'Art offer us a reading of masculinity that is far removed from any stereotype. By adopting a loving, playful, or humorous stance, they offer us an alternative vision of relationships and masculinity—one that is fluid, complex, and undogmatic.

AFTER WORK by Alli Savolainen (Finland - 7)

RAW FOLDS by Cagdas Kahriman (Turkey - 8)

THE MAN by Maria Papacharalambous (Cyprus - 11)

THERE ARE CARICATURES…AND MEN by Véronique Sapin (France / Canada - 12)

BONJOUR L'AMOUR by Sabine Mooibroek (Netherlands - 14)

THE BLUE MAN by Sabrina Montiel-Sotto (Venezuela - 25)

OD DADDY by Cecilie Dahl (Norway - 32)