Deriva y catástrofe
Sound art piece
Galería Rojo
Bogotá, February 2012
In a room a dinning table is set up. After three minutes where nothing happens one of four walls starts to slide inwards forcing the people to move avoiding being pushed off.
The wall moves slowly but steady as the room gets smaller. The movement of the 1800 pound wall creates a droning sound that increases the sense of claustrophobia and angst.
When the wall meets the table at halfway the pushing makes for the glasses, silverware and dishes to vibrate and shake against each other producing a rattling high-pitched sound.
As the wall advances a large part of the audience is forced to leave avoiding being squashed.
The wall finally makes its way across the room crushing the furniture set against the opposite wall and making for everything on the table to fall to the floor producing a shattering sound.
In ‘Adrift and catastrophe’ I explore the emotional contrast that occurs between the morbid and guilty pleasure we feel when we witness a scene of destruction and the compassion we feel with the destroying object fighting aimlessly against its imminent annihilation.
The wall is operated by a crew of five people and its structure consists on aluminium, dry wall, wheels, steel cable and a pulley.
Presented as my MA thesis in the Universidad Nacional and also presented by Rojo Galería on February 2013.
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