Maxime Rossi’s work lies at the intersection of music, visual arts, and moving images. His kaleidoscopic practice often embraces an aesthetic of collage or sampling, where art history intersects with science, pop culture, and ethnography.

The title Sister Ship refers to ships built in the same shipyard from the same set of blueprints. In contrast, Rossi’s project emerges from the unexpected juxtaposition of two seemingly unrelated elements. The first is a book about Corita Kent, a nun and artist who became a prominent figure in American counterculture. The second is a collection of footage from the documentary film Pygmée Blues (2013) by Renault Barret and Florent de La Tullaye, which follows two Pygmies traveling up the Congo River from Kinshasa, where they have faced discrimination. These images are accompanied by a sung soundtrack, with the story of Corita Kent’s life serving as its libretto. Through montage, these two contexts intertwine, dance, and engage in dialogue, creating a unique aesthetic space that unveils a latent connection between the nun’s journey and that of the boat —“sister” and “ship”.

Reflecting the inherent duality of the work, Sister Ship exists in two forms: as a medium-length film and as an installation. In the installation version, the film is paired with a sound basin that can also serve as a stage for tap-dance performances, alongside a modular structure featuring silkscreen prints that evoke Corita Kent’s artwork. In keeping with the project’s fusion of visual and musical elements, the installation can also function as a set for a live performance of Sister Ship, blending opera and ‘ciné-concert’.

Philippe Bettinelli, 2025
Translated by Laurie Hurwitz