The Artist Explains: Blanche - 'Empire'
Blanche speaks to us about her aesthetically pleasing music video for melancholic pop single, ‘Empire’, which was visually inspired by Gertrude Abercrombie’s surrealist paintings.
Where was the video for ‘Empire’ filmed?
In a studio called Studio-Stories in Ghent, Belgium. ( studiostories.be)
How does the video connect with the song?
It does so on every level. I think there’s no real doubt when you see it, it’s in the feelings, the dynamics, the sensations, it feels right, what you see and what you hear is deeply connected in the making, and I think the viewer will feel that as well, I hope.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
After the photoshoot I had to keep the hair extension on for the next day and I had to sleep with a small hair net for it to stay in place overnight. That was the unglamorous part of it: I was sitting on my bed in my pyjama and my hair in a pink net haha.
There was also a big yellow Moncler jacket that brought some funny moments to the set. It is huge, super heavy, warm and look like a tent. You have to see it to understand. Just imagine 4 people carrying this enormous heavy and fluffy outfit around the set while I was walking. A good thing about this outfit is that I could hide under in between shots and feel like I was alone in the room for a short moment. It allowed me to rest a bit.
Can you tell us about the ideas/themes/imagery used?
The inspiration for the imagery came from the paintings of Gertrude Abercrombie.
Her paintings have a very strong character and they strongly connect to my songs, especially Empire. When the artistic director showed me her paintings I was so confused because they gave a clear shape to these blurry images I had in my head when thinking about Empire. Therefore we based the visuals on Gertrude Abercrombie’s atmosphere and more generally on surreal paintings. The idea was to give a strong, clear and direct emotion with a pretty nude picture. There are almost no movements. Through the choice of bold outfits, intriguing colours and lights, and the right timing to introduce a particular image we built up the video. That is how we achieved to express emotions such as fear, power, abandonment, pain, introversion, self-unveiling, trust and authenticity.
Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
I feel like there is no general message. It is more about the instantaneous emotions you’ll be able to feel by listening to the song and watching the video. About how you have to accept these emotions, let them in. Not feeling anything is alright too, as long as you make sure you’re not pushing all emotions away because you are afraid of them. The video, by its nudity, leaves space for imagination and might help you to dig deep in to your thoughts. The song is written as a fiction, where the protagonist lived a life building a “self-empire”. A cold empire of certainties, flawless, and where emotions are absent. Where love is a fever that you have to escape from. Both the song and the video are about the deconstruction of this empire, the risks she’s taking by deconstructing everything she has built and ever known. The video visualises the different phases of this process.
Interview by Karla Harris