Eva Maria Bouillon

Eva Maria Bouillon (1997) lives and works in Bruges, Belgium.

Please follow the family (2021)

Full HD-projection, silent, 19min, loop

In this film, the camera depicts the attendants of a mourning meal after a
funeral. The characters in this film perform small, repetitive actions and
seem to be isolated in their own thoughts. Because of this feeling of
isolation or absence, the characters themselves can appear rather lifeless,
as they mourn.

With Peggy Batsleer, Henri Bouillon, Kyra Bouillon, Miguel Escobar, Seppe Vancraywinkel, Reinout Goddyn and Chantal Vandenberghe.

One of the main questions in my work is how to tell a story. I’ve learned a lot about the previous generations in my family and I’m intrigued about how the same stories are told and repeated from different points of view. With this in mind, I am exploring how to detach the family events from personal experiences and tell them in a new way so the viewer can relate to them.

Thus, the narration is always aimed at but leaving blank spaces to free the stories from their personal details and make it possible for others to identify. These blank spaces could be an empty or white space in photos, silences in sound and the motionlessness in video shots. They all open space for interpretation and possible continuations. Collaboration with relatives and close friends – concerning their own stories – is always a starting point. But characters in my work are sometimes not identifiable, because their faces are covered or kept outside the frame. The abstract way in which certain themes are transformed into images provokes reflection and invites for further conversation.