The Evil Eye

Inspired by gatherings, community phenomena and the expression of today’s beliefs – no matter how erratic, widespread or deprived of purpose –, Clément Cogitore’s work is guided by a sense of ritual and the articulation of the sacred. The Evil Eye, borrows promotional images and transforms them through an ambivalent staging. The narrative of a female voice travels through anonymous, stereotypical stock scenes taken from global banks that provide images for commercials and political campaigns. A large LED screen captures the attention in a paradoxically intimate space, where the authority of the device and of the spectator both start to drift.

Duration: 15
Production year: 2018
Country: France
Subtitles: Subtitles: English

Marcel Duchamp Prize 2018

Clément Cogitore

Young master of the visual arts, Clément Cogitore dominates the fusion of film, photography and experimental video-art. Exploring the idea of collective memory, his work questions our relationship with our own images and representations by bringing to life the intersection of cinematic expression with forms of contemporary art. Among numerous distinctions, Cogitore saw his first feature film Neither heaven nor earth (2015) selected to be screened at the International Critics' Week in Cannes, received the prestigious Marcel Duchamp award in 2018 and has had his work exhibited in venues such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin and MoMA in New York. His latest film, Goute d'Or, was present at the Cannes 2022 Festival.