In 1431, Joan of Arc’s first trial took place from February 21 to March 25, initially in the Robing Room at the castle of Rouen, and subsequently in the chamber there which was used as her prison. Perhaps the most significant person in the room, aside from Joan herself, was Guillaume Manchon, trial notary. He took the trial minutes, in French, and later translated them into Latin, writing out in his own hand three of the five known copies. The Said Woman is an exploration of this document, the embedded and complex layerings of translation, transcription, and framing within the text, separate from the mythologies surrounding its subject.
On February 21, 22, 24, 27, and March 1, the trial document from the corresponding date, in English translation, will be read aloud at 2 p.m. on the first floor landing at Akademie Schloss Solitude, where The Said Woman is exhibited as part of the group show Around Analogies. If you would like to receive the trial announcements, one on the morning of each trial date, please send an email with the subject line »judges« to the artist.
The online version of the project is available here.
Please join us.