Incarnator: Miniature Viewing Room
July 7 - August 10
"Video 06/04/18" (2018) by RJ Camacho. 1:35 minutes. Digital video, color, sound.
Camacho documents a group of workers earnestly cutting down a tree in the middle of the night. Here, Camacho measures the value of resources and physical exertion of manual labor that are often left ignored in today’s mass production assembly lines.
August 2 - 15
"Exvoto" (2005) by José Alejandro Restrepo. 3:20 minutes. Video, color, silent.
The montage of this video compiles different sports media clips from the late 1990s in Colombia showing football players making the Catholic ritual sign of the cross at pivotal moments of a game. When watching this mundane TV material in slow motion, the spectator perceives the "act of faith" of wishing to connect with the Holy Spirit in the middle of a packed-filled stadium, a site of entertainment for the masses where faith and belief are heavily concentrated.
August 18 - September 5
"Figure Study" (2015) by Maria Taniguchi. 2:40 minutes. Single-channel HD video, black-and-white, silent.
The relationship between image and viewer is explored in Taniguchi’s “Figure Study” (2015). The common objects in this video—a ball, hand, helmet, plant, etc.—are fragmented from their context and reassembled conceptually, relying on either logic or spontaneous association in the mind of the spectator. Placed in an ambiguous or neutral environment, they function autonomously or perhaps hint to unexpected relationship with one another.
September 7 - 16
"Princess Studies: Fantasy, Work and Happiness [a work in progress]," (2015). 32:49. Single-channel video, color, sound.
Eisa Jocson’s "Princess Studies" (2015) is a duet with Filipino performance artist Josh Serafin and a continuation of her investigation into Filipino labor, performance of happiness and production of fantasy within the "happiness” or fairy tale empire. This video is a part of her internationally acclaimed HAPPYLAND (2017) series, and a follow up to her award-winning "Macho Dancer" performance.
“Janus” (2014) animated by Aimée de Jongh. 3:30. 4K video, color, sound.
Which animal resemble one another most? Janus (2014) by Miljohn Ruperto references the iconic “duck-rabbit” illustration and prompts viewers to consider two way of seeing: "seeing that" versus "seeing as.” Watch this captivating video in the miniature viewing room curated by Paul Pfeiffer. On view for a limited time, this exhibition within an exhibition explores themes of subjectivity and image-making.
“Looking Inwards” (2008). 17:00. Single-channel video, color, sound.
Last up in the miniature viewing room series is Looking Inwards by Berlin-based Filipino artist Lizza May David. The video is an intimate portrait of the working and living space of a domestic helper (the artist's aunt) in Hong Kong. Filming within the interior of her employer's household including the furniture, view from the window and personal belongings, the video visualizes how power relations are interconnected with private space.