Esther Denis

Esther Denis :

Levita was co-founded by Clément Kertenne, who has been a magician for 15 years. They specialize in automated levitation and wanted to continue the magic of performances. They began developing their work in the streets, shops, and exhibition spaces, notably collaborating with Studio Drift in 2022 for a Louis Vuitton project. Recently, they contacted me to create a collaborative work, combining levitation with my piece “L’étant.” We already knew each other through the Brussels art scene because our two universes blend the real and the unreal.

Esther Denis :

Yes, I studied scenography at La Cambre School in Belgium and then at the School of Decorative Arts in Paris. So far, I have been oscillating between live arts and visual arts. I have a practice as a visual artist that unfolds either on theater stages or in galleries, museums, or art centers. Currently, I am part of the collective exhibition at the Wallonia-Brussels Center titled “Territoires hétérotopiques.”

Esther Denis :

This installation is called “L’étant” and is centred around a rather realistic black water basin. It is partly inspired by a quote from Jean Cocteau that says: “When approaching the unreal, it is necessary to be realistic.” I developed this idea of being both in the representation of a concrete space, like a pond with its flora and fauna, while adding magical touches—this is where we connected with Levita—and introducing little disturbance… Because the video projection interacts with mirrors that create a whole play of reflections and evoke the myth of paradise or Narcissus, allowing for different interpretations.

Esther Denis :

Yes, I have had the opportunity to showcase “L’étant” six times, and I adapt to each space, often changing the dimensions of the piece. However, here, the challenge was to make it levitate and move, whereas before it was only linked to video projection, reflections, and a drop-by-drop system. This year, the mirror is truly central to the installation and creates this optical device since we project light and video onto an otherwise fixed and inert space. This projection enhances the effects of vibration and reflections, thus creating disturbances and magic… The goal is for the viewer to struggle to identify where the different sources of light come from, immersing them in a small spectacle.

Esther Denis :

The main theme here is the question of the double, and I started with a text by Clément Rosset called “Impressions fugitives: L’ombre, le reflet, l’écho.” He talks about these doubles of the real that are both witnesses to what is tangible, like reflections or echoes, while already being in the realm of illusion. The philosopher re-examines these imaginary constructs, such as the vampire who has no shadow… objects that fall without making a sound… to discuss strangeness. Since I wanted to evoke paradise and what is real or not, I was interested in translating these themes through the lens of the double and disturbance.

Esther Denis :

I do indeed have a strong connection to Romanticism, particularly in these videos projected in the installation, which reference the numerous nymphs in 19th-century pictorial art. The dancers I staged reenact poses from ancient, especially mythological, paintings, accentuating the relationship between the real and the unreal, as well as between past and contemporary periods, working with imaginations that traverse the history of art. The notion of dreams is also very present, and one can also see a certain element of absurdity in this installation, akin to the memories we have of a dream…

Esther Denis :

The title of the piece is already a play on words in itself… and refers to this concept of being in introspection in front of the installation. When I began my research on paradise, I asked people how they imagined life after death and to describe a form of ideal space. No one described a collective space; rather, they spoke of places where each person is alone, without any other protagonists… I found it interesting to project solely into solitude. Thus, the link with Narcissus, this relationship to oneself and one’s own consciousness, became evident.