La gran mentira de la muerte

Different forms of subalternity run through Carmen, whether they be colonial, racial, gender-based, class-related or criminal, making her both an image of Western otherness and the embodiment of a dominant stereotype. At the invitation of the Festival d'Automne, American visual artist Wu Tsang presents the film in dialogue with a series of performative activations in the new spaces of the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain.

Featuring dancers Rocío Molina and Yinka Esi Graves, as well as bullfighter Vanessa Montoya, the film uses multi-channel spatialized sound in its evocation of horror. However, in contrast to films of this genre, we have the impression of an escape route opening up before us as the myth of Carmen unfolds. While the opera itself condemns Carmen to a tragic destiny, this installation has the capacity, for a few fleeting instants, to make us believe in the possibility of seeing the image come alive and dance before our very eyes.

As part of the Festival d'Automne 2025.

A film by Wu Tsang.

Cast Yinka Esi Graves, Rocío Molina, Jose el Oruco, Tosh Basco. Torera: Vanessa Montoya.

Detailed programme of performances on festival-automne.com

Production BNV Producciones (Joaquín Vázquez, Cristina Hergueta, Enrique Fuenteblanca, Felisa Romero Rubio) Co-production TBA21 – Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (Madrid); Hartwig Art Foundation (Amsterdam); National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne) With the collaboration of MACBA Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona Research and development sponsored by TBA21 – Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (Madrid) With the generous support of CAAC – Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo and the Excelentísimo Ayuntamiento de Guillena (Seville) Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Bortolozzi

The Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain and the Festival d'Automne à Paris present this project as a co-realisation.