Output details

Gather: Justicia

My guiding research questioned how could I respond, in the space of one month, to the city of Córdoba in Argentina, and create an artwork in a public space?

To pursue the research there were several meetings with the ‘¡Afuera! Contemporary Art in Public Spaces’ curatorial team. Through them I was introduced to Gustavo Maldino – a choir leader with whom I collaborated, even though the conceptual framework was loose, and it was uncertain what the final outcome would be.

During my residency the city was consumed by daily media reports about the trials of military leaders responsible for the Argentinian “Dirty War”. I went to the Memorial Museum, formerly the D2 military detention centre where it is estimated 1,000 people were detained, tortured and murdered and this became the venue for a choral performance, and as the result of a local radio station announcement, the general public were invited to attend.

‘Gather: Justicia’ was a filmed performance and subsequent video that involved a choir, as well as 60 participants from the general public who joined the proceedings.

Since the 1990s my art practice has relied on collaboration and participation, often demanding of collaborators improvised performative actions. I recoup the remains of these gestures (the documentation) to make the artworks, which are often concerned with the relationship between sound and memory, the dynamics of space and incorporating the spectator. In a collaborative and participatory way, my aim is to elicit unexpected responses and shape those responses into a lasting artwork.

The output is presented via portfolio, which should be viewed in order to gain a proper understanding of the research.