Considered one of Tony Oursler's major works, the video tape Grand Mal arose from the following question: what would happen if a young catholic suffered from the "grand mal"? In an interview with Elisabeth Janus, he declared: "[...] good and evil play an important role in my early works... It's obviously one of the basic elements of the catholic view of the world, with which I grew up."[1]The "grand mal", an old name for epilepsy, is characterized by a hypersynchronous discharge from a set of neurons. According to Tony Oursler's definition, it is a state of extreme consciousness in which all the person's sensations, feelings, beliefs and memories are experienced simultaneously [2]. This state corresponds in particular to Tony Oursler's way of storytelling, involving constant shifts of meaning and multiple associations of ideas. More than a simple structural confrontation, his narrative system seeks a particular mental and physical predisposition in the spectator. Grand Mal is designed as a mosaic of obsessive images and themes. Tony Oursler ponders the meaning of life, death and the beyond. He explores the contradictory cohabitation of religion and science. The dualistic thinking present in his tapes helps to involve the spectator in the drama. Tony Oursler is seeking an empathic relationship between the spectator and the protagonists of his videos. The story is complex, integrating a wide range of materials and techniques. The music is used as an indicator of the emotional orientation. Grand Mal presents the moment when a person at death's door starts wondering, taking a last look at himself, his acts and his beliefs. The video is steeped in an apocalyptic atmosphere. The decors are expressive and rudimentary, making use of child-like energy and playfulness. The body is decorated with paint and becomes a character in the story. Cardboard is mixed with organic materials: worms wriggle beside figurines. Bloody feet levitate above spikes. Two purple faces, like divine apparitions, loom over the town. Graphic characters leave bloodstains. An inaccessible Christ stands at the top of a column. Worms, symbolic of death and corruption, snake-like representatives of sin and intestinal parasites, compete in an artificial stadium. Paradise alternates with hell. The work ends with three roses planted like stakes.

Dominique Garrigues

[1] Elisabeth Janus, "Vers une grammaire psycho-dramatique de l'image en mouvement : un entretien avec Tony Oursler", Tony Oursler catalog, capc, Bordeaux, 1997.
[2] See John Minkowsky, "Les bandes vidéo de Tony Oursler", Sphères d'influence exhibition catalog, Paris, Editions du Centre Georges Pompidou, 1986.