Iroojrilik

Julian Charrière

The film Iroojrilik captures the structures of the decaying atomic-industrial architecture of Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, a place that has become famous not least for having been the site of successive nuclear tests by the US military. Through his montage, the artist suggests morphological overlaps with the monstrous wrecks lying at the bottom of the atoll's lagoon, battered by the tide and the passage of time.

Through a series of shots mixing sunset and sunrise, Julian Charrière suggests an uncertain distinction between daybreak and nightfall - the first glimmer of a new day in the history of the Pacific, and the decline of another.

The images of warships sunk in these tests, with animals on board among other things to test the impact of nuclear weapons on organisms, resonate on a far greater scale with the hundreds of tonnes of munitions lying at the bottom of Lake Geneva and now posing risks of accidents and pollution.

▶ Artwork: Irjoorilik, 2016, Video, 21’04, 4K

▶ Venue: Cinéma Les Scala on September 12 at 7.30pm

  • Iroojrilik
  • Iroojrilik