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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

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We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.

© Copyright 2024 Santiago Tavera

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