In this extremely short video, made the same year as Vanitas: Robe de chair pour albinos anorexique, Jana Sterbak sets her head on fire in a flash combustion. A little gunpowder placed on the top of her skull catches fire and within a few seconds the artist’s body appears and disappears against a black background, with the glare of a flame shining from her hair. The combustion is shown in real time, whereas we see the artist wiping her head with a towel after the fire in acceleration. This effect marks the urgency, and is a way of emphasising the risk taken in this performance. The rhythm also highlights the blinding quality of the spark, creating an image that is literally fascinating – it is as though our gaze were hypnotised by the harsh glare, making any reaction impossible... In the video, punctuated by the bright flame, the body appears paradoxically slowly in an intense coloured-light variation, passing from red to yellow. In a gesture that lights up the world to the artist’s own detriment, the performance involves a responsibility on the part of the artist with respect to the public. The work, which is dangerous for the artist, illuminates the world. Mental activity is not without risks, nor is moral commitment. Seeing Sterbak’s head light up is like a sudden inspiration that engages her whole body in a poetic, incendiary and luminous act.

Patricia Maincent