Film Performance Submemorias de un rollo + Discussion

The film performance Submemorias de un rollo (Alexandra Morales, Georgy Bagdasarov), with an introduction by film theorist Bernd Herzogenrath followed by a discussion with the authors.

We dwell within the layers of memory of places where silver was mined for centuries. It was silver that lent Europe its splendour and shaped its audacious image. Yet there is no silver left in these places. Nor is there much silver left in these film images. It was here, but we have bleached it out so that you might see the colours. Whether it be a film reel or ravaged land, what remains once all the wealth has been mined?

The alchemical archaeology of the Super 8 films by Georgi Bagdasarov and Alexandra Morales, shot long ago in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, La Paz (and elsewhere), presents a complex conception of the relationship between representation and its sources, between the figure and the apparent background, between memory and vision, and between Western paternalism and other possible modes of existence.

About authors:

Alexandra Morales is a Czech-Argentine filmmaker, experimental film curator and researcher. Her creative practice is rooted in media anarchaeology and the expanded ecology of the photochemical laboratory. She is interested in photochemical processes drawn from marginal film and non-film practices, as well as in the theory of materialist cinema, to which she also devotes her research and publishing activities.

Georgy Bagdasarov is an artist born in Kazakhstan to an Armenian family, who is currently based in Prague. In his work, he explores the relationships between analogue and digital technologies, which he combines within hybrid devices. His works are significantly influenced by structural cinematography, cookery recipes and the syntax of computer languages.

Since 2013, Bagdasarov and Morales have formed the duo Labodoble, which functions as an artistic collective, but also as a curatorial and educational platform. Their work focuses on sustainable photochemical processes and other dimensions of the concept of ‘ecology of practice’. Through films, performances, installations and workshops, Labodoble transforms the relationship between machine and operator; together with their tools, they become co-actors in a performative situation. Their practice combines technical experimentation with media theory and philosophy.

Timeline:

6.00–6.30 pm Opening remarks: Bernd Herzogenrath (in English)
6.30–8.00 pm Film performance Submemorias de un rollo and a discussion with the authors

The event is English friendly.