Vanessa Desclaux - Protocole d'Hypnose

Média Médiums

I will introduce my current research on hypnosis, which came about through various readings and meetings with practitioners of hypnosis. I will attempt to situate the questions raised by this research, and the different types of situations elicited - control, influence, empathy, and emancipation. Secondly, I will present the specific case of the use of hypnosis in the artistic practice of Matt Mullican who has been experimenting with it since 1978. It was attending one of his performances that led me to reflect upon the role hypnosis played in Mullican's creative process and upon the nature of “That Person”, the figure that has emerged from his work with hypnotic transe states." Vanessa Desclaux graduated from Sciences Po, Paris and has a Master's degree in exhibition curating from Goldsmiths College, University of London, where she is currently pursuing her PhD in Art. Her research is centered on artistic practices which developped at the end of the 1970s and which articulate complex relationships between visual phenomena on the one hand and language and discursive practices on the other. In particular, she has worked on the artists David Lamelas, Guy de Cointet and Matt Mullican, developping her critical project through exhibitions, programs and performances and the publication of texts. Her recent projects include monographic and group exhibitions including - In a sentimental mood at the Galerie des galeries and Anna Barham, Agnès Geoffray, Nathania Rubin at Jousse Entreprise, in the framework of the festival Nouvelles vagues at the Palais de Tokyo.