
THE NOVELS OF ELSGÜER
(Interactive Documentary)


Optica - Centre d'Art Contemporain
Montréal, Canada
April 13th - June 15th, 2024

The interactive documentary project of The Novels of Elsgüer commissioned by OPTICA with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts’ Digital Now grant, invites the audience to navigate the world of Elsgüer that Tavera and Acosta have created through a virtual interactive experience and a video documentary in five parts. The interactive experience offers viewers the opportunity to visit virtual renditions of the installations, finding within them curatorial texts as well as archival images and videos of the work. Alongside this, there are five video capsules with interviews and behind the scene images of each episode, shedding light on the production process and highlighting the incredible community of Bipoc and queer artists, performers and curators that have been part of this project throughout the years. Beyond the five installations and the explorations of Tavera, Acosta and their collaborators, this documentary puts forward the powerful interconnectivity of all individuals who are considered the “other”, foregrounding the potential that transdisciplinary art has to deconstruct histories, create new narratives and expand collective knowledge.
The word Elsgüer is the spanglish pronunciation of the English word “elsewhere”. This alludes to the sensation of feeling absence while being present, a sensation felt by anyone who has experienced displacement or othering. This body of work uses this sense of dislocation/displacement as a method to create environments that ask audiences to question their own perception and position within a space.
Production Team
Direction
Performers
Laura Acosta & Santiago Tavera
Aizysse Baga, Sam Blake, Phoebe Yī Lìng Chang, Beatriz Golovan del Pino, Francisco González Rosas, Alicia Kazobinka
Unity Artist and Developer
Director of Photography
Audiovisual Production Support, Lighting and Editing
Sound Design and Production
Colorist
Production and Studio Assistants
Script Consultant
Curatorial texts and voice over
Interviewees
Translators
Milton Riaño
Abraham Mercado
Juan David Padilla
AM DeVito
Cedric Laurenty
Bronson Smillie, Cuto Reed, Carolina Etchart
Muhammad Elkhairy
Claudia Arana, Nuria Carton de Grammont, Shauna Janssen, Mariza Rosales Argonza, Jamie Ross
eunice belidor, Marie-Josée Lafortune
Caroline Künzle, Colette Tougas, Karla Aguilar Trejo
Photos x Paul Litherland


We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.