Melêh nian bêh/Je vous regarde, 1908/2016, Vidéo HD 12 sec
Thanks to Ansah Akouba Hannah Stéaba
The spectator is looking at an old postcard from the colonial time in the Ivory coast dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. Much to the surprise of the spectator, the postcard is animated and the women starts talking. Her eyes move and face the spectator. She says, "melêh nian bêh," in nzima, her native language, which means "je vous regarde" in French. By trying to escape a masculine, colonial gaze, the woman is defying a frozen narrative of history.