Massimo Furlan Reenacts 1982 World Cup Final at Galerie Vallois

Massimo Furlan, a Swiss Italian artist, presented a video work at Galerie George-Philippe et Nathalie Vallois in Paris from September 16 to October 29, 2005. The piece is a remake of the 1982 FIFA World Cup final between Italy and West Germany (score 3-1). Furlan performed alone on an empty field at Stade de la Pontaise in Lausanne, precisely reenacting the movements of the Italian team without a ball. The only other presence was Jean-Jacques Tillmann, a Swiss Romande television commentator, who re-delivered his original commentary live, substituting Furlan's name for Italian players. Four cameras filmed the performance, mimicking the original broadcast's framing. A single chair on the pitch and Tillmann in the press booth are the only other elements. The work evokes both comedy and melancholy, as the artist channels a child's magical thinking of saving the Italian team, transforming a stadium into a childhood bedroom. The burlesque lies in treating a football match as a score of gestures to be memorized and performed alone, programming memory and body to revive a lost time and space.