Sacred Clown

Dillwyn wanted for some time to work with both David Bickerstaff, a film-maker he admired and Didier Danthois Sacred Clown. For Dillwyn, Didier became a symbol of the sensitivity of the human being and so he invited them both to collaborate on a project.

 

Didier agreed to be filmed performing over a period of an afternoon in Dillwyn's studio, surrounded by his paintings. David Bickerstaff was invited to film the process with a view to producing an installation, which would include video and painting in the same space.

 

The idea was to observe the live interteaction between the clown and the paintings. As Didier says, "A story unfolds, where every object speaks, where everybody contributes, where there is an invisible link between all things and all people. Enchanted, he becomes an instrument being played, in service of the unseen. This is Magic. This is Sacred Art. This is the Sacred Clown."

 

At the end of the session, David and Dillwyn asked Didier to perform one more time, but this time he was asked to be seated with the camera in a close-up on his face. Didier was asked to recall the paintings in his mind and access them internally. The idea was to experiment with the camera's ability to amplify thought and see through to the inner, emotional self. To enhance the physical movement brought on by the recollection and internal meditation, the footage was digitally slowed down and the sound was stripped away.