BIOPIC or Charles Geneviève Louis Auguste André Timothée is a film orbiting the life of eighteenth-century French diplomat, spy and soldier Chevalière d’Éon. What it isn’t, is an attempt to delineate or define an individual in the traditional sense of the biopic. Instead, inspired by d’Éon’s memoir, this work by Marseille-based, Tarntanya/Adelaide-born artist Madison Bycroft uses the nebulous details of an extraordinary life to trouble the act of biography itself; the film's fantastical narrative embraces the idea that truths are contextual and contingent on the perspective, politics and experience of a narrator. This toying with the tactics of biography taps into a history of critical engagement with the genre, but also speaks to the contemporary concern of selfhood; to what degree does representation encompass acts of imagination and fabulation? Touching on the edges yet never fully explaining the character of Chevalière d’Éon, BIOPIC reflects the process and (im)possibility of representing the fullness of an existence, whether through one’s own words or in the eyes of others.

Samstag Museum of Art is proud to premiere new work by 2014 Samstag scholar Madison Bycroft. BIOPIC or Charles Geneviève Louis Auguste André Timothée has been commissioned by Samstag in partnership with the South Australian Film Corporation and SALA Festival: and is the second commission after Amos Gebhardt’s Small acts of resistance in 2020. Bycroft’s ambitious project exemplifies our ongoing commitment to supporting the creation of significant screen-based works and the presentation of new work for South Australian audiences.

Catalogue essay by Kathryn Weir.