Valérie Massadian: Little People

Intelligence comes from the senses, not the other way around. 
—Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub, in conversation with Benoit Goetz 

There should be a fancy text here.
There won’t be. Sorry. I’m not fancy.

I’d rather get on my knees and talk with children
I’d rather talk to strangers whose language sometimes I can’t understand
I’d rather sense people, little and not so little, beyond language
I’d rather share the beauty of silence between two souls
I’d rather protect the sensuality and the precious way children improvise the world I’d rather spend time building a shack with a four-year-old than socialize
I’d rather, you’d rather, we’d rather. . . 

In here, I’ll gently ask you to take your shoes off, and if you got holes in your socks, who cares, I do very often.
And when you take your shoes off, try to also take your armor off—for here, you can roll on the carpet, lay on the bed, draw on the walls, hide in the closet, sit in silence, gaze into the joy, the sadness, the way children are in and out of the world they live in, with and without us.

—Valérie Massadian

Valérie Massadian is a filmmaker and photographer whose work focuses on instinct and femininity, playing with the boundaries of realism and fairy tales. This interactive exhibition features Massadian’s photography and her short film Ninouche, in which she explores childhood