Gabriel Desplanque

Film

De si gracieux sourires (Such gracious smiles) is an 18-minute sequence shot. Different scenes follow on in a single space that is constantly modulated by the appearance and disappearance of the sets. This is the meeting of an awkward actress, a condescending director, three bossy psychiatrists who enjoy telling stories that end badly, a lecturer, an assistant with strange manners and a trio of singers on wheels accompanied by a children’s choir.

This merry pack creates stories that intertwine and, by different narrative paths and performative actions, evoke the ambiguity and polysemy of the smile.

In French, the world sourire comes from the Latin subridere, meaning to put on a laughing or ironic expression, designed to deceive. A smile is formed by the tensing of the muscles at the two corners of the mouth, but also around the eyes. It comes from a vibration that combines joy and terror, wonder and dread. It expresses varied, contradictory feelings. Smiling to express one’s contentment, to coax, to seduce, defend oneself, mock…

The smile as a wound in the middle of the face, like a weapon of mass destruction. De si gracieux sourires plays with the codes of performance, dance, theatre and cinema and tries to offer the finest of fêtes.

Gabriel Desplanque

Gabriel Desplanque was born in 1981, graduated from the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs de Paris (ENSAD - 2006) and the Beaux-Arts de Paris (ENSBA - 2008). His practice explores different media depending on the subject; photography, drawing, installation, video, writing and performance are all components of his work. Language is also omnipresent in his practice and appears as a means of escaping the insignificance of the characters featured, of distinguishing truth from fiction, fantasy from reality. The human figure finds itself in strange situations, both overwhelming and constraining. His works combine performance, dance and music within pieces that are both complex and light-hearted, sorts of exhibition-shows, fairground works. He has exhibited in galleries (Galerie Paul Frèches, Galerie Mélanie Rio…) and in institutions in France (Hors Piste at Beaubourg, Musée des Beaux-arts in Paris, Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rodez, L’Arsenal in Metz, Centre d’Art Bastille in Grenoble…) and abroad (Institut Français in Barcelona, Loop Video art fair in Barcelona, Paris-Berlin Festival …) His work has also been shown in two solo shows «J’ai peu d’effet personnels» at galerie Plume (Paris, 2011) and « Maison Suzanne » at Maison Zervos (Burgandy 2014). The performance for four singers and a mad dog «J’ai bâti une maison sur trois octaves» has been shown at the Théâtre de la Ville (Danse Elargie, 2014) and at the Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers. He is currently working on a sound piece for the Fondation Vuitton.

His work is visible at this address: www.gabrieldesplanque.com