Catherine Contour's Expanding Self-Portrait at La Criée

Catherine Contour's exhibition 'Autoportrait' at La Criée in Rennes (27 Nov – 15 Dec 2001) redefines self-portraiture as an evolving, participatory process. Instead of static images, the show featured daily changes: video projections, photographs, and the artist's presence for discussions, performances, and lectures. The work unfolded over three weeks with themes of water, food, and horizontality, transforming the space through installations like a 'pateaugoire' (a pun on 'boat' and 'watering can'), a candy buffet, and a gradually lowered ceiling and raised floor that inhibited standing. Invited contributors included choreographers Christine Burgos and Olivier Gelpe, sound artist Frédéric Nogray, and photographers Solenn Camus, Jean-Paul Thibeau, Hervé Toby, and graphic designer Agnès Dahan. The project echoes Derrida's ideas on the impossibility of fixing identity. Contour's approach parallels her ongoing series 'Chambres', which uses hotel rooms (including a love hotel in Tokyo) as sites for durational work. Previous self-portrait iterations include 'Autoportrait 9×9' (1999, École des Beaux-Arts, Grenoble) and 'Autoportrait à l'expiration' (January 2000). The exhibition blurred boundaries between artist, audience, and space, generating traces like conference recordings and visitor photos.