In search of Eternity was shot in Japan in the cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo and presents a symbolic tale inspired by a belief of the North American Sioux people according to whom the spirits of the dead float between heaven and earth.
Lasting twelve minutes, the video takes the form of a long journey through the city, the human beings and the Japanese landscape. Everything in it appears frozen, despite the camera’s constant movement, giving the impression of a spirit drifting amongst souls and cities in a space frozen in time. Two voices, those of two angels, talk about their memories: they recall love, birth, mankind, the war and the journey towards the after-life. In fact, they are audio extracts from Wim Wenders’ film Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire, 1987). These words, linked to the strangely floating images, create an uncanny feeling.
Like Wim Wenders’ film, In search of Eternity, is a poetic, melancholically self-conscious tale that pays homage to human beings lost in the city. The installation of a panoramic photograph, in the form of a screen conceived in the Japanese tradition, places the spectator at the centre of a protective cocoon.
Emmanuelle de l’Ecotais
Emmanuelle de l’Ecotais is a curator and director of the photographic collection at the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art.
Brodbeck & de Barbuat, In search of Eternity II
New Discovery Award
Festival des Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles 2017
From 3rd July to 24th September 2017
Arles, France
