The Enduring Influence of Chantal Akerman

Filmmaker Chantal Akerman’s phenomenal body of work, which sits at the crossroads of cinema and conceptual art, is being honored in Paris this fall. Opening the Jeu de Paume’s 20th anniversary celebrations is an exhibit exploring the Belgian artist’s oeuvre. 

Travelling, on display now until January 19, explores the impact Akerman had on modern cinema through the artist’s video installations and a bio-filmography. The exhibit, curated by Laurence Rassel in collaboration with Marta Ponsa, begins with two installations arranged opposite each other. ‘Woman Sitting After Killing’ (2001) shows the final sequence from Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), a film which follows three days in the life of a lonely widowed housewife. Running on seven screens, for seven minutes and looped seven times, the static shot of the protagonist sitting in darkness reflects a moment suspended in time. 

Opposite this piece sits ‘In the Mirror’ (2007) featuring an extract from Akerman’s film L’enfant aimé, ou je joue à être une femme mariée (The Beloved Child, or I Play at Being a Married Woman, 1971). The sequence shows a young woman observing herself in a wide-angle mirror, naming different parts of her body and commenting on them aloud. The stationing of the two pieces across from each other acts as a dialogue between two portraits of women, allowing viewers to consider their own image from a new perspective. 

In another room, an impressive installation of ‘D’est au bord de la fiction’ (From the East: Bordering on Fiction, 1995) is dedicated to the reunification of Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Shown on 25 monitors, the work uses sound and images to retrace a journey through East Germany to Moscow via Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. Adjacent to this, Akerman’s voice can be heard on a black screen reciting a text about how historical memory interferes with artistic creation. 

At the halfway point of the exhibition, a bio-filmography of previously unpublished archives, including screenplays, handwritten notes, photographs and letters, shown for the first time courtesy of the Fondation Chantal Akerman, are displayed on walls and tables, offering viewers an insight into Akerman’s creative process.

Finally, within the Jeu de Paume movie theatre, audiences can view a range of Akerman’s films presented by various filmmakers. The exhibit provides both an insight to and a celebration of Akerman’s poetic radicalism, which continues to exert a profound influence on film lovers. Almost 10 years after Akerman’s death, it succeeds in paying tribute to her work and proving its continued relevance.