VIDEOART | 12’ | Australia | 2024
DIRECTOR AND SCREENWRITER: Marielle Madly Gonier
PREMIERE: Valencia
SYNOPSIS
In First Encounter, Marielle depicts a landscape full of the sensations of the first time, through her initial encounter with the Australian bush. She is transported to a land she is still discovering, yet one that seems eager to impart its (hi)story to her, however beautiful and painful it may be. Throughout this quest, the artist explores an unfamiliar terrain, transcending the boundaries between the conscious and the subconscious.
Engaging with themes of dislocation and discovery, the art video aims to evoke a visceral response, allowing to feel the weight of solitude and the richness of new beginnings.
“The experience of exile, especially when voluntary, is as unsettling as it is enriching. We lose our visual, psychological, and physical bearings, breathing in a different air. It is through a renewed perspective and a unique solitude that we uncover profound truths buried deep within ourselves. And nature, in its vastness, immediately immerses us in a new sphere where everything is true, wild, elegant, arid, or abundant. It is from all these sensations that poetics come to life.” Marielle Gonier
FESTIVALS
- The Docks Gallery (Melbourne), 2024
- VISION (Venecia, Italia), 2024
- Esoteric International Film Festival (Moscú), 2025
- The Docks Gallery (Melbourne) – 2024
- VISION (Venice, Italy) – 2024
- Esoteric International Film Festival (Moscow) – 2025
- The Docks Gallery (Melbourne), 2024
- VISION (Venècia, Itàlia), 2024
- Esoteric International Film Festival (Moscou), 2025
BIO DIRECTOR
After beginning her artistic journey with ballet and piano training, Marielle Gonier left her native Martinique (French West Indies) for New York to continue her professional studies, specialising in dance.
In Paris, she began to broaden her training to include other artistic disciplines such as theatre and percussion. As a dance and performance artist, Marielle also studied in parallel at the University of Paris VIII, graduating with honours in Performing Arts. The French artist continued her artistic expansion by incorporating video art and experimental film into her creative expression.
She is now dedicated to multidisciplinary artistic creations in the fields of art, literature and health areas, always striving for an unformatted writing.
Marielle’s artistic influences reflect her extensive residencies and cultural experiences in Europe, the United States, South America and Australia.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Marielle’s stage experience includes performances at prestigious venues such as the Folies Bergères, the Opéra Comique in Paris and the Opéra de Compiègne as a dance artist.
She has also received numerous awards for her innovative and thought-provoking video works.
Her experimental film “PERFORMING LAND” won six awards between 2021 and 2023, notably in Paris, Milan and Budapest. In October 2022, she was selected as the second winner out of 60 international contemporary artists at the AURA exhibition in London.
This recognition highlights her contribution to the contemporary art scene.