OUR WEEKLY PROCRASTINATION

Photos: The Procrastinator (some) Times.

The past Sunday we visited Whitechapel Gallery to have a look at their wonderful exhibition co-curated by Christine van Assche and Chris Darke, Chris Marker: A Grin Without a Cat. "Visionary French filmmaker Chris Marker (1921–2012) created vivid film-essays that lace realism with science fiction and lyricism with politics. Changing his name, declining to be photographed or interviewed, Marker was both enigma and legend."

The exhibition is delightful and lets you discover Marker's photography; his Petites Planètes collection; or have another look to films like Statues Also Die (1953), Le Joli Mai (The Merry Month of May) (1962), A Grin Without a Cat (1977), Sans soleil (Sunless) (1982), Zapping Zone (Proposals for an Imaginary Television) (1990–94), in a big screen. You can spend hours inside Marker's universes, which is a way to challenge yourself to observe more, to ask more, to let go, to recognize, to love, to be curious, to be both overwhelmed and amazed at the same time, maybe all the time. It's very moving in every possible way of the word.

Chris Marker: A Grin Without a Cat is open at the Whitechapel Gallery until the 22nd of June and it's free. There is also an events program with symposiums, film exhibitions... JUST GO!

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As an extra for this post, serendipity brought to my eyes, also this past week, an article written by Chilean documentarist Patricio Guzmán named "Lo que le debo a Marker" (What I owe to Chris Marker), in which he tells the story of how he met Marker and how his life radically change because of that. If you speak Spanish, have a look here.