Orlan Documentary Explores Body as Artistic Material

A documentary by Fanny dal Magro titled "Orlan. Et la chair se fait verbe" (Mosaïque Films) examines the French artist's career, focusing on her use of the body as a medium. Orlan's early works include series like Corps sculpture, Madones, and pieces where she photoshopped herself into a pre-Columbian statue, sold "Baisers de l'artiste," and measured streets with her body. The film details her controversial surgical performances, where she sought to sculpt her own flesh despite resistance from plastic surgeons who warned she would become "unfuckable." Orlan viewed the body as political and a new material, reading Deleuze during operations while surgeons wore Paco Rabanne. The documentary traces her shift from early works to surgical modifications and a later phase where her body infused each work without needing to be present. Structured in nine parts with verb titles, the film blends didactic and artistic elements, with Orlan's voiceover never syncing to her speaking face. It includes anecdotes, such as her mother wanting to sew her name on sheets.