Coddess Variations

In Hervé Martin Delpierre’s film Coddess Variations, sculpture and cinematic narrative intertwine to explore enduring themes of femininity, mythology, and human existence – with a significant emphasis on the symbolic presence of the moon. Rather than just documenting a certain artwork, the film investigates deeper anthropological and philosophical questions, wanting to invite viewers into a reflective dialogue about their identity, (personal) transformation, and the cyclical nature of life.

The genesis

Born from Hermine Bourdin’s residence at the historic Paris Opéra, the Coddess Variations project began with a sculptural form imbued with ancient archetypes. Bourdin created a two‐meter plaster sculpture that echoes Constantin Brancusi’s idea of “material of dreams” (an interpretation of his philosophy and approach to sculpture since the artist believed that a chosen material held an intrinsic spirit and truth), conceived as a homage to the primordial imagery of prehistoric goddesses and Venus figures. Drawing inspiration from ancient symbolism, the sculpture emerged as a physical manifestation of creation myths: an invocation of those raw, original narratives that have defined the feminine mystique throughout millennia and which fascinate Bourdin.

After this first iteration process, Bourdin – in collaboration with the workshop teams of the Paris Opera – created a costume so a dancer could embody a living sculpture of a goddess. Thus, the original medium was transformed into a dynamic performance, activating and contextualizing the work as an allegory of feminine strength and sensibility.

Maiden #3: Sculpture Flirt V · Coddess Variations

Hermine Bourdin

Hermine Bourdin’s artistic journey is one deeply rooted in the ancient and the tactile. A sculptress inspired by the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, her work spans a wide variety of mediums: from clay, stone and bronze to digital forms. For Bourdin, the act of sculpting is inseparable from the narrative of the human shape. Her deliberate challenge to contemporary beauty standards – rejecting the narrow ideal of thinness in favor of celebrating diverse and voluptuous or robust forms – positions her work as a counterpoint to modern homogenization.

From sculpture to film

Coddess Variations was initially envisioned by Bourdin as a photographic series documenting the sculpture in various forms. The project evolved when Delpierre recognized the potential for a richer, more dynamic expression through film. His approach transformed the static digital work into a fluid narrative, exploring the complexity of femininity – and the human body in general – through choreographed movements.

Hervé Martin Delpierre

Delpierre's filmmaking, characterized by introspection and poetic observation, turned out to be the perfect fit in translating Bourdin's sculpture into motion. Known for his documentaries about cultural icons like Daft Punk and the digital Cryptopunks collection + community, Delpierre's cinematic style in Coddess Variations shifted towards narrative fiction deeply embedded with symbolism. Delpierre emphasizes the project's artistic autonomy, highlighting its intention to explore existential themes without commercial constraints.

Crone #3: The Pond VI · Coddess Variations

Dance as existential expression

A living sculpture, embodied by opera dancer Eugénie Drion, acts as the dynamic counterpart to the plaster statue, illustrating the transformation inherent in the work as intended by Bourdin.
Utilizing only a wide-angle lens, Delpierre captured the expansive movements of the dancer. This choice allowed the camera to capture not only the physical embodiment of the sculpture but also the emotional depth of the dance itself, thus portraying the complexities of femininity.
The choreography, developed by Ania Catherine (Operator), was structured into nine movement vignettes to represent the three archetypes of the Goddess: Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Rejecting the linearity of these phases and their assumed ties to age, an algorithm determined the final order in which they were performed – and thus filmed.

Blockchain as the archive of movement

The imagery shot by Delpierre served as the basis for the works in the digital art collection of Coddess Variations – which consists of a series of visual pieces, alongside their corresponding choreography. The artworks utilize various mediums including sculpture, dance, video, motion capture, and Labanotation*.
Central to this collection is the ‘Operator On-Chain Generative Choreography Method’, transforming the ephemeral nature of dance into a lasting digital record by integrating smart contracts and a detailed movement library. Thus, each gesture of artistic expression has become a lasting digital inscription on the Ethereum blockchain.

*Labanotation, also known as Kinetography Laban, is a method for recording and analyzing human movement, created by Hungarian choreographer and dance theorist Rudolf Laban in the 1920s.

Maiden #1: Duet With Zephyr VIII · Coddess Variations

In praise of slowness

For Coddess Variations, Delpierre lent his distinctive cinematic language, marked by a deep reverence for the art of slow time – a deliberate, contemplative pace that allows the subtleties of human expression to unfurl. In the film, Delpierre not only visualizes the dancer’s movements, but also the silent poetry that emerges between stillness and motion. His cinematic approach here reveals a nuanced dynamic between movement and emotion, inviting viewers to pause and reflect on what he calls “the transient beauty of life.” Eschewing rapid cuts and overt dramatization, the black-and-white imagery echoes the atmospheric aesthetics of early French surrealism, particularly Jean Cocteau’s Le Sang d’un Poète, which was a key reference for Bourdin.

Bourdin worked closely with the Opéra de Paris makeup team to create the impression that the dancer was sculpted from plaster – a living statue inspired by Cocteau’s imagery and early in her process influenced by the raw, surreal vocabulary of Butoh. Though never explicitly choreographed in that tradition, its ethos informed the visual tone: a choreography of controlled, near-trance-like movements that blur the boundary between sculpture and body. This aesthetic choice adds an anthropological resonance to the film, evoking questions of identity, embodiment, and transformation – relevant in the current contemporary context, which is characterized by rapid technological change and emotional complexity.

The moon

In Coddess Variations, the moon functions as both an observer and active participant, symbolizing cyclicality, transformation, and renewal. Historically, the moon has long been associated with femininity, influencing fertility rites, mythologies, and artistic representations across various cultures. Within the film, its presence reinforces themes of constant metamorphosis, mirroring the shifting forms and emotional states of the enlivened sculpture. Anthropologically, the lunar cycle represents universal patterns shaping human experiences of life, death, and rebirth. This symbolic framework underscores the philosophical intent of Coddess Variations, inviting reflection on the cyclical nature of existence and the resonance humans feel with celestial rhythms.

Goddess

In the title, ‘Coddess’ is a deliberate and evocative play on words: a fusion of ‘code’ and ‘goddess’. It encapsulates the project’s dual identity, uniting the timeless archetype of the divine feminine with the current, new digital technology. The title thus serves as a manifesto almost, proclaiming that the essence of the goddess – her mystery, strength and perpetual allure – is here celebrated in a form of human expression and written down in code at the same time {composed in choreography, encoded in algorithmic logic, inscribed via Labanotation, and ultimately archived on the blockchain}.

Convergence

Coddess Variations is a result of the fertile possibilities that emerge when artistic disciplines intersect. It is a project that redefines the scope of sculpture, dance, digital art, and film, while maintaining a vital dialogue with the visual and mythological languages of the past.More than a documentation of a performance, the work functions as a kind of moving essay—an open-ended reflection on art as a living form. It challenges the viewer to look beneath the surface, to notice the confluences it brings forth: the enduring solidity of stone and the fluid dynamism of gesture; the archaic and the algorithmic; the poetic and the programmed. In doing so, it offers a contemplative allegory of cyclical life processes—on earth and within the self – where ancient symbolism is not preserved but reanimated through contemporary means.

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