(c) Marc Wathieu
Residency and installation at Office National des Vacances Annuelles (Bruxelles)
after a proposition of artist and teacher AgZ, I spent one week in the facilities of an administration that organized holidays for labours and artists.
Investing the ground floor of the administration, a former mutual benefit society that closed its doors to become an art gallery, I went to the underground of the building administration to pick some vintage furniture and revive the place, in order to celebrate its original function once for all.
Step by step, spending days at this unplugged office facility, like a ghost, I started to question which character would have work here and... I came there working everyday at the same hours of other employees. Except, having to make art instead of administrative duties.
Inspired Monsieur Hulot, I tried to imagine several funny situations to play, but I rather ended up to perform this fictional character by playing her without knowing who she was. Each day, improvising things guided by intuition, searching for clues about the character.
I still don't know exactly who she was, but this video is kind of her last day at work.
Sometimes visitors of the administration would confuse me with an actual employee, wave me though the glass window and even push my door to ask for informations about their appointment in this or those office number (insert a number). Which I gladly delivered to them, until they realized my phone was unplugged. And I was an artist.
In order to popularize the mission of the administration, more, to celebrate it, I wrote a ritournelle about its mission that I twice sung around the neighborhood to inhabitants.
