[January 21, 2021]

As reclusive as most of us, yet prolific, Isabelle Hayeur began 2021 by producing video after video, available for view on the Vimeo platform. The context of the pandemic and the accompanying health measures first inspired her to make the foggy Hygieia, named after the goddess of health and cleanliness, then the dreamier Liquidity – and others are to come. From fourteen to twenty minutes in length, without words, and beguilingly slow, the first two works were built entirely from copyright-free images and sounds collected by Pexels Videos, Freesound, and other sharing sites. Without leaving home, Hayeur reflects on the pandemic, not without subjecting it to her critical gaze, as she opposes hygiene and pollution, order and chaos. Her process is also an effect of the worldwide virus. Some shoot scenes, and others give them meaning. Some capture the objective reality of a masked face; others, like Hayeur, comment on them.