Marc Paradis

Biography

Born in Montreal in 1955, Marc Paradis studied drama and plastic arts. He also participated in numerous training workshops, from 1978 to 1990, notably with Józef Robakowski, Bruno Bigoni, Jerzy Grotowski and Michael Kriegman. Paradis became interested in video in 1981, when he produced a screen test for a film by French director Jean-François Garsi, of whom he was then the assistant. He made The Ogre's Journey, the first of his 17 achievements. His works question the romantic relationships between men, desire, fantasy, the representation of sexuality while playing, sometimes, at the limits of pornography. In 1984, he co-signed with Luc Bourdon, Video Scheme and, the following year, Say Cheese for a Trans-Canadian Look, two bands that focused on video art in Canada. He also produces portraits and performance recordings of artists such as Denis Lessard, John Mingolla and Yves Lalonde. His work has received both national and international recognition. Marc Paradis died in Montreal in the summer of 2019.