A dull and deep explosion, not far away

“An explosion …” is an artistic research project culminating in a multimedia installation in November 2016 in the MAC Quinta Normal (Santiago, Chile). The exhibition is presented as a portal to the minefields, offering a multimedia experience based on three main stages, which by reference are named as: The path (exhibition space), Landscape (images), The Minefield (video) .

Inside landmine video (10 min loop, HD, color, camera drone): We used a drone to make the video and photography documentation inside landmine territories. The camera take a subjective view that runs through the minefields emulating a walk (first person, eye level of an animal or person). This material will be published in conjunction with file video “camera traps” used by biologists in the area to record the presence of animals difficult to observe. Thus, the video uses different forms of landscape mediated through the mechanical eye to unveil a view of the desert.

Maps / drawings of the original minefields: In collaboration with the Demining Commission of San Pedro (II Region, Chile), we had access to the original maps that record the laid mines in the fields of Alto del Lari (Step Huaytiquina), Sailao and International route . These hand-drawn maps were created in 1978 on graph paper and describe in detail the dates, number of mines, names of dependents and the exact position in which the mines were originally planted. Currently these maps are key to “rethinking” the field, ie from the original map, redrawing the position of mines information. However, the territory is not static. The flow of water, animals and people have modified the original position. “An explosion ..” uses shapes drawn on the original plans (net of lines and nodes) as a sign of the desire for certainty, the attempt to describe the territory rationally and statically, but that failed to account for the more complex movements and displacements that occur in it.

Collaborative Maps: In parallel, the team interviewed people whose lives have been affected by minefields. In this instance, participants reported on paper and drew their vision and experience of the territory and minefields.This free drawing on graph paper generates a contrast to the story of the experience. The invitation to participate was generated from the question: “Could you draw the paths you do in the desert?” The 18 subjective maps included in the exhibition were created by pastors, visitors, tour guides, municipal officials, university professors , school and military staff.

Photography: Four large-format images (120cm x 80cm) were produced. These landscapes do not seek to refer directly to the minefield in the first instance, but as an account of the desert as an empty space, without life or traces of use. At a second glance photographs reveal traces of an explosion that happened, or might happen. These images announce some of the cross-cutting themes of the exhibition: the territory as a place of uncertainty and at the same time, as a sign of cultural identity.

Animated gif: It plays a standard anti-personnel mine used by the Chilean army, which rotates on a background of clouds of fire, flames and smoke digitally generated. This digital 3D animation refers to an aesthetic of war games for playstation / computer. This video will be in a screen of 18 x 20cm approximately.

Sound design: The sound design of the exhibition seeks to extend key concepts of the demining process, such as the idea of tension and instability which raises the uncertainty caused by the nonstatic condition of mines due to geographical characteristics, and the remoteness and inaccessibility of the demining process itself. This has been generated by a sound construction in which mixes synthetic sounds and in situ recordings that overlap and mix with each other, using the spatiality of the room and exploiting the acoustic characteristics of it..

Images conservation project Andean Cat (Leopardus Jacobita) courtesy of Nicolás Lagos.