Julien Maire: Demi-pas

A 20-minute 'film', created live with modified slide projectors.

Developed from Julien Maire's earlier work with 'Diapositives', Demi-pas (Half-step) is a 20-minute film using modified slide projectors. The slides are feats of art and engineering in themselves, laser-cut ektachromes containing tiny objects, motors and electronic devices. By synchronising the movements of these slides with subtle shifts of focus and sound, Maire performs a bewitching spin on the magic lantern show. (See Lanterna Magicka if you'd like to compare it with the real thing.)

Julien Maire presents work at media arts festivals internationally and was last year nominated for the 'World Technology Awards', but his art is not futuristic or hi-tech. It seems that the first impulse behind it is to take something apart, whether it be a slide projector or a video camera, and then reconstruct it in a way which makes us think about the object and what it shows us. He has been described as having a dual role of 'puppeteer and projectionist', and he draws inspiration from the age of optical trickery before cinema as much as from contemporary mass media.

Julien Maire's visit has been made possible with the support of the French Cultural Institute.