IdentidadesSouvenir

Souvenir IdentitiesDesde la isla-continente a la isla-periféricaFrom the island-continent to the island-periphery

IdentidadesSouvenir

Souvenir Identities

Desde la isla–continente a la isla–periféricaFrom the island–continent to the island–periphery

Presidentes de Honor

Fernando Arencibia Hernández

Julio Caubín Hernández

Presidente

José Barbosa Hernández

Vicepresidente

Ignacio Baeza Gómez

Vocales

José Luis Catalinas Calleja

Teófilo Domínguez Anaya

Fundación Ignacio Larramendi

– Repre. Miguel Hernando de Larramendi –

César García Otero

Santiago Gayarre Bermejo

José Hernández Barbosa

Miguel Herreros Altamirano

Tomás Hidalgo Aranda

Andrés Jiménez Herradón

Filomeno Mira Candel

Humberto Pérez Hidalgo

Jorge Carlos Petit Sánchez

Asunción Rodríguez Betancort

Julián Pedro Sáenz Cortés

Juan Francisco Sánchez Mayor

Isabel Suárez Velázquez

Secretario

Jaime Álvarez de las Asturias

Bohorques

Patronos Históricos

Manuel Jordán Martinón

Silvestre de León García

Santiago Rodríguez Santana

Félix Santiago Melián

Directora General

Esther Martel Gil

Directora del Área Cultural

Alicia Batista Couzi

EXPOSICIÓN Y CATÁLOGO

Coordinación del catálogo

Miriam Corredera Cabeza

Alicia Batista Couzi

Luz Marina Quesada Suárez

Créditos fotográficos

Sus autores

Diseño gráfico y maquetación

Eva Kašáková

Textos

Miriam Corredera Cabeza

Martí Manen

Traducciones

Laura F. Farhall

Montaje y transporte

ACOSERPA DIGITAL, S.L.

Seguros

MAPFRE Seguros generales

Impresión

Gráficas Sabater, S. L.

Créditos de la obra editorial

Fundación Canaria MAPFRE GUANARTEME

Calle Juan de Quesada nº 10

35001 – Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

ISBN 978-84-1564-27-8

Depósito legal:

Miri

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Fase I. ........................................................................... 35Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres ..................... 41Francisco Torres y Laura Gower ......................... 52Inés Peña y Alex Howes / Inés Peña y José Jurado .................................................................................. 67Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie ................................ 83

Fase II. ....................................................................... 113Alejandro Gopar .......................................................... 117Francisco Torres .......................................................... 123Inés Peña .......................................................................... 130Laura Gower ................................................................... 136Oscar HR ........................................................................... 139Samuel Hunter .............................................................. 145

ÍndiceIdentidades Souvenir .................................................... 7 Miriam C. Cabeza

Los souvenirs, memorias, identidades, lugares, tiempos y detalles que perduran ......................... 15 Martí Manen

English translation ........................................................ 23

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Identidades Souvenir

Miriam C. Cabeza

Con la expresión “Identidades Souvenir”, título de este pro-yecto, se hace referencia precisamente a aquello que se cons-truye en nuestra mente al pensar en un lugar ajeno a nosotros y a esas imágenes estereotipadas con las que construimos ese emplazamiento. Es interesante comprobar cómo el souvenir, tal y como ya afirmaba Fernando Estévez, acaba por ser una materialización de la naturaleza y de la subjetividad del turista. Se inserta en el proceso de construcción de las identidades so-ciales y culturales, al igual que en nuestra memoria de lugares, gentes y cosas, y adquiriendo diferentes “regímenes de valor” en función de sus poseedores. Dentro de la lógica cultural capi-talista, el viaje y los lugares se empaquetan como turísticos, y el souvenir se convierte en la prueba de la imposibilidad del tu-rista de escapar al permanente vaivén entre la seducción de lo exótico y los impulsos de posesión y apropiación del Otro y, en el otro extremo, a la nostalgia por su muerte y desaparición 1. El souvenir, probablemente fabricado en serie en Asia, y devuelto para ser adquirido en ese emplazamiento turístico, que con el tiempo, termina por definir en el ojo extranjero a ese lugar y lo que se espera encontrar en él, su experiencia, al final, termina incluso siendo recreado para el visitante, como ante lo recono-cible — Tenerife – sol o Gran Bretaña – El Big Ben 2. Dicho esto, este proyecto se centra en el intercambio entre artistas de diferentes contextos locales, tratando de pro-mover, a través de Internet, experiencias vinculadas a lo local, en el entorno global en el que hoy se desarrollan las prácticas

1 Estévez Gonzalez, Fernando, 2007, Souvenirs’ y turistas, http://elpais.com diario/2007/08/18/babelia/1187391967_850215.html

2 Dean MacCannell, 2012, Tourismology: to go and to stay; Morality and ethics in tourism’s subjective field, resvistal FLUOR, volumen 3.

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artísticas, dando respuesta a la necesidad de establecer nue-vas dinámicas relacionales y puntos de reflexión, a partir de miradas diversas. Rompiendo con los estereotipos fabricados respecto a esos lugares y las personas que en él habitan. El interés de la propuesta de intervención reside en la calidad de los procesos dialógicos. Se pacta y renegocia conti-nuamente, adaptándose a las necesidades de cada momento. Nace del concepto de laboratorio, como espacio de investi-gación, estudio, proposición y acción. Partiendo del trabajo conjunto, se quieren establecer nuevas metodologías útiles, prácticas y críticas con los respectivos contextos. Siguiendo la dinámica ensayo-error, se trata de un proceso de tanteo que no espera resultados concretos a priori, sino procura el juego con los elementos y las dificultades que SE van presentando en el proceso, buscando soluciones y respuestas en cada momento. Siempre moviéndose entre lo experimental, lo procesual y la indagación; haciendo hincapié en las posibilidades que ofrece compartir esas diversas visiones sobre el trabajo artístico. Abarcando desde las preocupaciones sociales de cada país o enclave, hasta aquellas otras que afectan a la experiencia pro-pia. El punto de partida inicial de cada artista, es diferente en función de las distintas influencias culturales y experiencias personales de cada uno. Pero ello no debía ser un problema pues es precisamente éste, el eje en torno al cual se mueve el proyecto. Ese “factor personal” que cada artista confiere al in-tercambio, es lo que lo construye, le da un carácter y un tempo. Las conversaciones, la confusión debida a la vía de comuni-cación empleada, el tiempo de espera, las limitaciones por el idioma - a pesar de las facilidades que ofrece la red para supe-rarlas, siempre algo se pierde, se disloca, como un teléfono roto -, las ideas que se sugieren y se quedan en el camino, las que terminan por llevarse a cabo, las diversas formas de entender y trabajar, o incluso de ser. Todo tiene un valor, forma parte del viaje, de la experiencia, disfrutar del recorrido, de la deriva. Esta experiencia de intercambio parte de una dinámica de “ósmosis” relativa a lugares, de sencillo establecimiento y

acceso que, a partir de la transversalidad, abre la posibilidad de construir entramados artísticos locales complejos, críticos y donde el aire se renueva a cada paso, con las aportaciones de los diferentes agentes. Se desarrolla a partir de dinámicas de aprendizaje y trabajo conjunto que permiten abrir nuevas vías y definir herramientas alternativas para un uso profesional. Dentro de este nuevo paradigma de las experiencias me-diatizadas por las TIC, se valora no solo la información o los contenidos multimedia que aportan las mismas, sino también la forma en que permiten que se establezca la comunicación entre personas y grupos, con sus las fortalezas y debilidades, desde el contexto del arte.  Estas conexiones podrían ser infinitas si se quisiera, pero en este caso, el proceso por el que se establecen los nexos, res-ponde a un itinerario biográfico, por el cual se conectan dos lugares en los que se ha habitado: el lugar del que se proviene, Tenerife, y el lugar que te acoge como estudiante ERASMUS, Manchester. Resultando el proceso enriquecedor: estudiar en otra universidad, en otro país, con otro idioma, con una visión distinta del arte y de cómo se configura; con una forma de en-tender la educación, el aprendizaje y sus objetivos diferentes. ¿Cómo traer algo de vuelta? ¿Cómo compartir algo del lugar de donde se procede con la ciudad que te acoge? Con este pro-yecto se pretende ofrecer a los participantes la posibilidad de trabajar con compañeros de otros lugares, que parten de una formación y una mirada distinta, pero con quienes se compar-ten intereses comunes, pudiendo por tanto aprender unos de otros. Este proyecto, a su vez, pretende también ser un meca-nismo activador de la interacción, la negociación y el trabajo colaborativo. Ya existen otras propuestas de intercambio a diversos ni-veles, como por ejemplo Mobile Art School Athens en Liverpool, que durante una corta estancia en Atenas, intentó, a través de una serie de discusiones, debates, películas, fotografías, escri-tos, dibujos y online/offline derivas psicogeográficas, formular preguntas acerca de la posibilidad de la autonomía política y

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artística en la actualidad. Esta experiencia fue realizada por personal y estudiantes del grado en Bellas Artes de Liverpool School of Art and Design en colaboración con la Biennal de Atenas, AllArtNow de Damasco y Grizedale Arts en Coniston. Mobile Arts School forma parte de la Fine Arts Public Platform ‘The Future of the Art School in Society’ impulsada por el Li-verpool School of Art and Design, en un intento de redefinir la forma en que los programas de Bellas Artes y Escuelas de Arte podría funcionar en el futuro. Por otro lado, hay proyectos mucho menos ambiciosos pero igualmente interesantes, como puede ser Deriva Mussol. Iniciativa que se desarrolla desde el museo ACVic y que realiza derivas por la ciudad de Vic. Su propuesta que aún sigue en curso, tras ser contactados por The Walk Exchange – colec-tivo que hace paseos psicogeográficos por la ciudad de Nueva York -, consiste en que un grupo de personas realice una ruta juntos, a la misma hora y de la misma duración. Durante esta ruta se va recogiendo material visual y objetos, que luego se-rán enviados por correo ordinario al grupo de la otra ciudad. La caminata concluye con una pequeña puesta en común a través de Skype. Cada uno de los lugares se quedaría con la caja recibida como presente por la experiencia. Esta propuesta aún sigue en curso. Abandonando por un momento los intercambios entre personas de diversos países, encontramos Inter-Accions que es una propuesta de proyecto colaborativo entre estudiantes de la Facultad de Bellas Artes (UB) y de las escuelas de Arquitectura ETSAB y ETSAV (UPC) en la ciudad de Barcelona. El proyecto se basa en la organización de una actividad formativa dirigida a estudiantes de ambos centros, con el objetivo de crear una propuesta de experimentación colectiva, donde el intercambio de herramientas y de conocimientos interdisciplinarios sean la principal base metodológica, con el fin de diseñar interfe-rencias en los espacios relacionales de la ciudad.

Desde la Isla-continente a la Isla-periférica. Manchester-Tenerife.

Las islas, sin importar sus extensión, siempre son unidades cerradas delimitadas, que acaban donde empiezan el mar y el aire. En ellas parece tenerse la sensación de estar aislado de la realidad continental y de estar en el centro de todo lo que le ro-dea, donde todas las cosas aumentan su importancia, triplican su talla aparente. Dos lugares que tienen como punto común el estar localizados en islas, pero perteneciendo, dentro de con-cepto de isla, a distintos tipos de ecosistemas. Una periférica, Tenerife, lugar sobre el que el ojo extranjero puede verter un sin fin de imágenes paradisíacas – arena blanca, agua turquesa y palmeras. Y la otra Gran Bretaña, cuyos habitantes la sienten como continental, a veces incluso, desvinculándola de Europa, hablando de ella como Otra, a la que ellos no pertenecen. Man-chester, como ciudad para el intercambio, descentraliza toda esa cultura visual inglesa, vinculada a Londres – autobuses ro-jos, guardias reales y London Eye – donde el visitante espera encontrar todo ese registro visual inexistente y muchas veces reproducido solo para este – Manchester Eye. Este es un in-tercambio en el que se ponen de manifiesto dichos conflictos y muchos otros, con idiomas y culturas distintos, pero nego-ciando un punto común. En cuanto a las especificidades de cada lugar, se podría decir que el arte en Canarias, y más concretamente en Tenerife, es un círculo pequeño, aunque recientemente se ha contado con exposiciones con artistas de talla internacional como Bill Viola en el SAC. Proliferan los espacios y las iniciativas jóve-nes como es el ejemplo de El Polvorín, La Piscina Editorial o El apartamento esta ultima concluida hace solo algunos años; en este contexto, alberga diversas oportunidades para los artistas emergentes pudiendo adquirir cierta relevancia en el pano-rama local. Pero dichas oportunidades se agotan siendo aún muy jóvenes, viéndose obligados a emigrar a otros lugares. Por ello, los artistas isleños necesitan vínculos y espacios de debate

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con agentes externos con los que puedan comparar procesos y formas de hacer, promover el pensamiento crítico e inten-tar encontrar la sostenibilidad a sus proyectos en su entorno. Como afirmó Arístides Santana, un joven comisario, escritor y artista procedente de Gran Canaria quizás el siguiente pasó puediera ser abrir las puertas a Latino América y África, con las que se comparten tradición y proximidad. Por el otro lado, en Manchester actualmente parece exis-tir un gran interés por el encuentro entre culturas, países o localidades. Esto se ha reflejado en la organización de múlti-ples festivales e iniciativas llevadas a cabo en la ciudad, como Asian Manchester Trienial a manos del colectivo Shisha o Road Trip y M/R, realizados desde el espacio Lionel Dobie Project o con ayuda del mismo. En cambio, en el contexto universitario, los alumnos no suelen realizar intercambios en el extranjero debido, tal vez, a que los cursos de idiomas de la universidad se tienen que pagar a parte de la matrícula ordinaria y no cuentan para nota3. Además, normalmente, son solo estancias de cua-tro meses. Aún así, existe interés por establecer contacto con otros contextos, como por el ejemplo Interactions – un inter-cambio entre artistas de Manchester y Edimburgo –, M/R – un intercambio entre artistas de Manchester y Rennes – como al-gunos de los participantes declaran, que puede ser no solo una buena oportunidad de aprendizaje, sino también una forma de aumentar su networking y promocionar su obra en otros luga-res4. En este contexto, es importante señalar la importancia del papel desempeñado por Arts Council del Reino Unido, sin cuyo apoyo, no podrían realizarse muchas de estas iniciativas, desde las de mayor escala a las de menos. A todo esto podemos añadir que con motivo de los Juegos Olímpicos de Londres de 2012, también se sunbencionaron muchos otros proyectos que

3 Lencky, James; The Debut by James Lencky (Rennes Project Manager), 2013, http://man-ren-exchange.tumblr.com/page/3

4 Morrison, Katy; Manchester|Rennes Exchange: A Space where Art, Artists and Audience can meet, 2013, http://man-ren-exchange.tumblr.com/page/4

promovían el intercambio de culturas y la diversidad cultu-ral, esto también hizo florecer varios eventos alrededor de la ciudad a lo lardo de ese año, como por ejemplo Cotton: Global Threads en la Whitworth Gallery entre otros. En la actualidad, los estudiantes y artistas emergentes al desarrollar y poner en práctica sus ideas y proyectos, con el fin de crecer como individuos y como profesionales, se encuen-tran con numerosos obstáculos. La austeridad, los recortes en cultura y educación, el coste cero o los trabajos mal remune-rados, son premisas que parecen haber sido aceptadas como naturales tanto en el ámbito del arte como mundo laboral de hoy en general. En esta situcación los artistas se congelan en estado de “emergentes”casi de manera indefinida. Identidades Souvenir, es una iniciativa se presenta como una dinámica fácil de establecer, que no precisa de más infra-estructura que aquella con la que ya cuentan los artistas que intervienen y que permite, mediante un intercambio telemá-tico, reflexionar sobre las prácticas artíticas actuales, en una sociedad en la que existen tecnologías que permiten que, en segundos, se pueda establecer contacto con personas que vi-ven a miles de kilómetros de distancia. Al mismo tiempo que permiten, poner en conflicto ideas preconcebidas y distintos puntos de vista. Vivimos en una realidad social y económica de grandes dificultades, en la que la creatividad y la colaboración pueden ser estrategias básicas para poder seguir avanzando5, aunque ¿hacia dónde? con la polvareda que está creando la crisis en el horizonte, pocas mentes privilegiadas lograrán acertar con la lotería del futuro. Pero parece interesante guardar en la mente el concepto de “avanzar” y preguntarse en de tanto en tanto hacia dónde, mostrarse críticos a cada paso, quizá eso permita por lo menos, avanzar con un paso pensado, consciente. Por

5 Selvas, Sergi; Arias, Nora; Carrasco, Marta y L. Fermoselle, Borga; Temáticas y conceptos; ¿Qué es Inter-Accions?, 2013, http://www.inter-accions.org/content/tem%C3%A0tica-i-conceptes

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ello, son necesarias nuevas experiencias que, sin precisar gran-des recursos, permitan desarrollar habilidades y herramientas desde la crítica y el análisis común. Por otra parte y para concluir, nos encontramos con que tenemos al alcance una gran cantidad de medios tecnológicos que ofrecen infinidad de posibilidades, pero ello no implica que vivamos en una diversidad de discursos. La capacidad de imaginar y reinventar pertenece a las personas. Al igual que la posibilidad de expresarse y buscar lenguajes desde los que poder hacerlo, son herramientas importantes para reflexionar, crear y cambiar nuestro entorno6. Por último, hay que señalar, que no se pretende sustituir las relaciones personales “cara a cara”, sino que lo que se busca es la indagación de otras po-sibilidades en un momento que se presenta hostil, con el fin de abrir un espacio donde poner en contacto nuestros pensa-mientos preconcebidos, y nuestras maneras de hacer y mirar.

6 Selvas, Sergi; Arias, Nora; Carrasco, Marta y L. Fermoselle, Borga; Temáticas y conceptos; ¿Qué es Inter-Accions?, 2013, http://www.inter-accions.org/content/tem%C3%A0tica-i-conceptes

Los souvenirs, memorias, identidades, lugares, tiempos y detalles que perduran

Martí Manen

MomentosExisten momentos complicados, sin normas, momentos con los que empezar algo que no sabemos qué será. Souvenir Iden-tities proponía generar algunos de estos momentos. Puntos de partida, bases inestables desde las que ir hacia lo desconocido. Momentos, lugares, mapas. Y estar perdidos.

MapasConvertir un tejido en una abstracción de contenidos que rela-tan una secuencia espacial. El mapa ha definido la relación con los lugares. El mapa es ahora algo supuestamente inclusivo y pasa a ser una serie de localizaciones vía GPS actualizándose en tiempo real. Material objetivo, datos, información. Supues-tamente. El mapa sigue siendo plano. La tierra sigue siendo plana. El tiempo, el proceso, los momentos perdidos se olvidan en el mapa y no tienen lugar de presentación. Lo estático gana, lo temporal terminará por desaparecer, los momentos defini-torios no tendrán opción de ser mapa. El tiempo implica capas, implica dislocaciones, titubeos y dudas. No saber exactamente cuál es el lugar, cuándo es el mo-mento, qué está pasando. El tiempo se vive y escapa. El mapa olvida a sus personas, sus emociones y sus dudas.

LugaresPensar en un lugar. Pensar en las imágenes asociadas a este lugar. Pensar ahora en dos lugares al mismo tiempo. Y las imá-genes, entonces, empiezan a ser menos evidentes. La velocidad de acción, y de pensamiento, en un mundo donde las distancias digitales se cuentan en nanosegundos,

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conlleva que el pensar en la fisicidad de un lugar obligue a plantearse, seguramente, una pausa. Un lugar no es su imagen, pero difícilmente escapamos de la etiquetación a la que esta-mos acostumbrados. Velocidad, necesitamos una respuesta, sea la que sea. Velocidad, el saber de qué estamos hablando sin perder la estela. La evolución de las redes digitales ha conllevado que las imágenes se llenen de señales, de contenidos textuales que fa-ciliten su indexación. Antes las imágenes eran un sistema para entroncar el conocimiento, ahora parece que son el contexto adecuado para depositar tal contenido. La imagen pasa a ser un escritorio, un plano, un contenedor. La imagen digital abre su espacio a otras cifras que no son ya las posibilidades que se encontraban en la química o la física. La imagen contiene más que la propia imagen. No son ya las opciones de la imagen como imagen (como en los archivos RAW) sino que nos encon-tramos con imágenes que contienen historias, comentarios, nombres de personas, conexiones, deseos, bombas, todo aque-llo que queramos, todo tipo de contenido que manejamos ya sin control. Las imágenes son lugares donde incorporar información. Y en los lugares “reales” aplicamos el mismo sentido. Un lugar necesita de su identificación para ser algo. La etiqueta nos da la posibilidad al reconocimiento y, mediante el reconocimiento llega la tranquilidad. Un lugar, dos lugares. La relación entre los lugares se realiza entonces mediante el cruce de etiquetas. Ciudades hermanadas. Paisajes parecidos. Sensaciones comu-nes. Visitar un lugar con las referencias de otro. Sobreponer capas de lugares en otros lugares. En los lugares buscar sistemas para compartir las mi-radas, para que la comunicación fluya y la experiencia física tenga un sentido. La velocidad para el lugar implica que nece-sariamente partamos del conocimiento de otro. Esta plaza es como esa plaza. Este museo significa lo mismo que ese otro museo. Este edificio es aquel edificio en esa otra ciudad.

ProcesosEn el devenir de una obra de arte los procesos de definición y producción, así como su presentación, cada vez son menos exactos. La mezcla de situaciones, las distintas líneas tempo-rales cruzadas, la necesidad crítica de redefinición constante conllevan que el proceso sea constituyente y que sea en la ac-ción del trabajo en la que se genere la obra. Trabajo, produc-ción, obra. Incidir en el proceso implica un cambio de registro en la obra. Proceso implica lo dicho, trabajo, pero también co-nexión con el contexto, necesidad de comprensión constante y posibilidad de evaluación. Nadie dijo que el salto a lo procesual fuera fácil. Tampoco a lo contextual. Cuando el arte quiere for-mar parte de su entorno, cuando lo que se ofrece es para todos, cuando el deseo es la generación de un diálogo aparecen una serie de interrogantes que conllevan una necesaria dosis de hu-mildad. Humildad, ya que la figura romántica no nos respalda, ya que parte del proceso creativo será respaldado por otros y por los lugares.

Souvenir Identities / Identidades souvenirSouvenir Identities es un proyecto que plantea la posible rela-ción artística entre dos lugares, entre dos modos de entender la distancia. Miriam C. Cabeza define coordenadas, Manchester y Tenerife, y modos de ser, la isla-continente y la isla-perifé-rica. El proyecto busca momentos, asume el riesgo del proceso y observa la aparición en el camino de otros lugares. También Berlín, por ejemplo, aparecerá en este mapa artístico mediante un eje entre dos puntos. Uno de los resultados, eso que siempre evitamos en todo proceso, tendrá forma de exposición pero muchos otros “resultados” aparecerán en el desarrollo. La de-finición de la identidad, sea personal o localizada. El diálogo como base para la definición. La direccionalidad en la mirada, sea interior o exterior. Entre muchos otros elementos que es-tán en juego.

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TesoroLa imagen literaria de la isla está íntimamente ligada a la de su mapa. Stevenson. Lo desconocido, el objetivo, el tesoro. Para que una isla sea literatura es importante que no sea demasiado grande. En las islas literarias se reconocen los límites terres-tres. El mapa, el plano, es visible. Pero el tablero esconde sus fichas, sus movimientos, sus peligros.

ImágenesCruzar dos imágenes, volver a la idea de la imagen como con-tenedor, como lugar. Dos. Proponer un diálogo. Y, también, dos personas. En Souvenir Identities hay personas e imágenes. Si no es lo mismo. La imagen de uno mismo frente a otro, la ima-gen de un lugar “propio” y al que “se representa” frente a otro lugar “propio” “representado”. Explicarse al otro mediante lo común, mediante lo asumido, los tópicos, la superficie. Bus-car a partir de la comunicación de lo primario. Entrar después en los poros, en los detalles, llegar a descifrar las capas de las imágenes. Yuxtaponer imágenes implica una acción de desmontaje y, también, una posibilidad narrativa. Cada una de las dos imá-genes se contrapone a la otra y a partir de tal contraposición se genera un código de comunicación propio. A veces imposible, a veces más que factible.

Momentos IIMi hermano, más pequeño que yo, ríe en la foto después de robar un gorro a un marinero en una terraza de un café. El marinero, y sus colegas, están sorprendidos. Mi hermano está actuando con el enorme gorro en su cabeza. Supongo que en la foto tendrá unos 4 años. La terraza del café está en una mon-taña. Los marineros están fuera de lugar. Se les nota fuera de lugar. Son marineros pero también son turistas. No recuerdo si aparezco en la foto, pero yo tenía más vergüenza que mi her-mano y no me atrevía a robar gorros a marineros.

ConversacionesEn el proceso de trabajo alrededor de Souvenir Identities las conversaciones han pasado a un primer plano. La conversa-ción como sistema para tejer contenidos, la conversación como lugar de definición en proceso. Los artistas hablan y fijan al hablar, si es que es posible fijar algo. Go with the flow, que de-cían Inés Peña y Alex Howes sin encontrar un punto en común. Let’s see how it goes, que decían Oscar Hernandez y Jonathon Beattie sin estar muy convencidos. Los tigres en el zoo termi-nan por realizar recorridos idénticos y sin fin. Los mismos pa-sos, los mismos gestos, las mismas pausas intentando siempre que pase algo, encontrar algo, una sorpresa, un sentido. Las conversaciones son, a veces, como los tigres en el zoo. Intentos de llegar a algo sin saber muy bien si existe la esperanza. Y la distancia en una conversación conlleva que los códigos ocultos en los otros lenguajes no son tan reconocibles. Una conversación con un desconocido por correo electrónico. O mediante algún otro sistema de comunicación electrónica escrita. Los tiempos están rotos, no sabemos de las pausas, la ironía es difícil de reconocer. La dificultad es evidente, pero las posibilidades también. Sumemos dos posibles idiomas para la conversación. Sumemos el hecho de que usar uno de los dos idiomas implica la inseguridad en uno de los participantes en la conversación y cierta culpabilidad en el otro. Estas cosas pa-san. Los tiempos de la conversación se ven también afectados, los tonos, los amagos, la simpatía y los deseos. Pero las posibi-lidades están, se tejen, se mantienen en ese primer plano hasta que es necesario dejarlo todo atrás.

AvionesAviones que descargan a turistas. Los mismos aviones que trasladan a trabajadores. Los mismos aviones en los que se vitorean a los equipos de fútbol que van a jugar su partido de competición. Cada vez es más difícil vivir en lugares donde el avión no sea un sistema de transporte normalizado, pero no

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hace tanto tiempo que en algunos enclaves –como las islas– el avión cambió el rumbo de todo. Las islas dejaron, de algún modo, de ser un stand by para ser simplemente un pequeño desajuste temporal.

SouvenirsPodríamos hablar largo y tendido sobre la necesidad de los souvenirs. Sobre el quedarse con algo que quiere ser una ima-gen de un lugar sin ser realmente verdad. Seguramente uno de los elementos más interesantes del souvenir es su carácter de elemento construido. Como el paisaje. Como la mirada.

ExposiciónLa exposición como elemento construido. Como el paisaje. Como la mirada. La exposición como eso que queremos que quede, como el objeto que nos recuerda la emoción de unos momentos y unos colores especiales. La exposición como mo-tivo para volver atrás, para recordar el camino, para volver a lo perdido. En Souvenir Identities la exposición era un objetivo pero también algo a evitar. Un miedo, algo a intentar abando-nar mentalmente hasta el último momento. En procesos de trabajo colaborativo, cuando llega la exposición significa que se cierra un recorrido. Es necesario traducir lo intraducible para que empiece otro proceso fuera del descontrol primero. Primero dos artistas están hablando sobre qué hacer para, con suerte, hacer algo. El tiempo pasa y van ajustando sus voces, sus palabras, sus modos de entender el lugar. Van concretando, después vuelven a empezar otra vez y otra vez y otra vez. Pero la exposición está más cerca, como ese puerto o ese aeropuerto que indica que ya está, que todo terminó. Es entonces cuando puede aparecer otro proceso, pero será un proceso ya fuera del control de los dos artistas. Ya no será su proceso, ya no serán sus palabras, su tono, su intento de comprender. La exposición se abrirá a otros procesos, a otras palabras y, los dos artistas notarán que ya no están, que ya no son, que ahora lo que es es otra historia.

MemoriaLa documentación siempre implica cierto grado de ficción. Aceptar que la documentación es ficción libera en cómo traba-jar con ella.

VelocidadLa combinación de plataformas para la comunicación genera monstruos. No hablamos por teléfono, es demasiado directo, sino que combinamos un mínimo de tres vías para poder esta-blecer un contacto indirecto. Y buena parte de ello con rastro. Buena parte del proceso comunicativo consiste en asegurarnos de que tenemos a alguien al otro lado. El sistema se rompe, las voces se pierden, los mensajes quedan en el aire. Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres hablan sin saber cuándo aparecerá el otro, preguntándose dónde estará el otro. A veces, en el mismo momento de escritura de un mensaje este llega a domicilio de su receptor, pero su recepción real queda en el aire. A veces, los mensajes se dejan en un espacio público (en Internet o donde sea) para que alguno de sus receptores sea aquella persona con quien realmente queremos comunicar. Y los tiempos de res-puesta no son estables. La velocidad en la respuesta depende de la plataforma que se utilice, depende de la posibilidad de conexión a la red, de todos los elementos que conforman la vida y su tránsito.

IslasDos recuerdos relacionados con islas. El primero en una isla real, el segundo en una isla mental. En el primero hay una ga-viota picando la cabeza de un niño. En el segundo hay el asumir por parte de un isleño que siempre necesitará de una isla para poder sentir su soledad interior como casa, como su máxima definición, sin escapatoria.

La RedEn la red quedan retazos, restos. La pesca de arrastre implica sorpresas y un mantenimiento constante de las redes para man-

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tenerlas en condiciones aceptables para la actividad. Souvenir Identities está en la red de redes. En distintos emplazamien-tos, bajo distintas coordenadas. En contextos sociales como Facebook, donde Identidades Souvenir está etiquetado como artista. Como noticia sobre el premio otorgado al proyecto por parte de la Fundación Mapfre Guanarteme. Como contenidos específicos en Tumblr, en Cargo collective, en Youtube. Como conexiones entre los artistas participantes. Como imágenes etiquetadas. Como videos. Como material vinculado a institu-ciones participantes. Como barcos de papel. Como monitores. Como líneas en el suelo. Como ventanas abiertas que llenan es-pacios de luz. Como cartas escritas a mano. Como fotos carnet. Como voces. Como códigos. Como retazos, como elementos que se van uniendo ahora y que, en un futuro, generarán otras sumas. Como islas que se van conectando, como momentos flexibles.

Aviones IIMi primer vuelo con Internet fue en un avión de Norwegian. Si hay lo utilizas. No hay discusión. Pero ese momento sin Inter-net ni teléfono que era el avión desapareció. Las islas desapa-recieron. Los caminos desaparecieron. Los momentos, los ma-pas, los lugares, los procesos, las imágenes, las conversaciones. La memoria, la velocidad.

Englishtranslation

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a problem, given that the cornerstone of this project is precisely that individuality. That “personal factor” that each artist contributes to the exchange builds it, shapes it and adds character and tempo. Conversations, the confusion created by the channel of com-munication employed, the wait, the language restrictions –despite online resources that assist communications, means that some-thing is always lost, distorted, like in a game of Chinese whispers–, suggestions and ideas that fall by the wayside, ideas that come to fruition, different ways of understanding, of working and of being, even. Everything has a value, and contributes to the journey, to the experience, to enjoying the route, the drift. Taking the dynamics of “osmosis” related to locations as a starting point, it was easy to set up and access the exchange. Furthermore, the transverse nature of the process enabled the construction of local artistic frameworks, complex and critical, which are constantly renewed, thanks to the contributions of the different actors. The experience is fuelled by learning techniques and teamwork that open new channels and define alternative tools for professional use.

Within this new paradigm of ICT-based experiences, it is not only about the informa-tion or multimedia content they generate, but also, about the manner in which they allow communication to be established between people and groups, with their strengths and weaknesses in the context of art.

Although these connections could be infinite, in this case the procedures imple-mented to establish them were based on a biographic itinerary that links two places of residence: the place of origin, Tenerife,

and the place of study during an ERASMUS grant, Manchester. The resulting process is extremely enriching: one gets to study in an-other university, another country, in another language, obtaining a different vision of art and how it is configured; with a different ap-proach to education, learning and goals. How can one bring something back? How can one share something about the place of origin with the host city? This project aims to allow participants to work with colleagues from other locations, with a different background, education and approach, but who share common interests, with a view to learning from each other. In addition, this project also aims to trigger interaction, negotiation and teamwork. Other previous exchanges, carried out on other levels, include the Mobile Art School Athens in Liverpool, which, during a short residency in Athens, attempted to use a series of discussions, debates, films, photo-graphs, writings, drawings, and online/offline psycho-geographical drifts to formulate questions about the possibility of political and artistic autonomy today. The experience was carried out by staff and students from the Fine Art BA Programme at Liverpool School of Art and Design, in collaboration with the Athens Biennial, AllArtNow (Da-mascus) and Grizedale Arts (Coniston). The Mobile Art School is part of Liverpool School of Art and Design’s Fine Arts Public Platform ‘The Future of the Art School in Society’ and aims to re-define how Fine Art Programmes and Art Schools might work in the future.

Other projects are less ambitious, but equally interesting, such as Deriva Mussol. This initiative is developed by the ACVic

Souvenir Identities

Miriam Cabeza

The title of this project, “Souvenir Identities,” refers precisely to the perceptions that come to mind when thinking of a foreign location and to the stereotypical images used to con-struct said location. It is interesting to see how the souvenir, as Fernando Estévez men-tioned, ends up becoming a materialization of the nature and subjectivity of the tourist. It is embedded in the process of construct-ing social and cultural identities, just as it is in our memory of places, people and things, and takes on different “value statuses” de-pending on its owners. Within the cultural logic of capitalism, travel and places are packaged as tourism, and the souvenir be-comes the proof of the tourist’s inability to escape the permanent fluctuation between the seduction of the exotic and the impulse to possess and appropriate the Other and, on the opposite spectrum, the nostalgia caused by the tourist’s death and disappearance.1 The souvenir, probably mass-produced in Asia, and then returned for purchase to this tourist destination, ends up defining the tourist’s image of their destination and what they expect to find there. The experience ends up being recreated for the visitor us-ing recognisable elements: Tenerife – sun or Great Britain – The Big Ben.2

1 Estévez González, Fernando, 2007, Souvenirs’ y turistas, http://elpais.com/diario/2007/08/18/babelia/1187391967_850215.html

2 Dean MacCannell, 2012, “Tourismology: to go and to stay; Morality and ethics in tourism’s subjective

That said, this project focuses on ex-changes between artists from different local contexts, and uses the Internet to encourage experiences linked to the local within the global environment in which art is currently practiced, responding to the need to estab-lish new relational dynamics and topics from a host of different perspectives. The project breaks away from prefabricated stereotypes of those places and their inhabitants. The interest of the intervention proposal lies in the quality of the dialogue process. Terms are agreed upon and rene-gotiated continuously, adapting to specific needs that arise at each moment. The idea emerged from the concept of the laboratory as a space for research, study, proposal and action. Taking collaborative work as the starting point, new methodologies are estab-lished that are useful, practical and critical with regards to their respective contexts. Based on a trial and error dynamic, this is a sounding out process that does not expect immediate specific results; instead it aims to play with the elements and difficulties that appear throughout the process, searching for solutions and answers as required. Always moving between the experimental, the pro-cedural and the exploratory, focusing on the possibilities that arise from sharing different perspectives on artistic work and spanning everything from social concerns particular to each country or enclave, to other issues that affect each personal experience. The point of departure differs from artist to artist de-pending on their cultural influences and per-sonal experiences. Yet that should not pose

field”, FLUOR magazine, volume 3.

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island-based artists need connections and platforms for discussions where they can meet external actors to compare processes and procedures, promote critical thought and attempt to find sustainability for their projects in their environment. Young curator, writer and artist from Gran Canaria, Arístides Santana, commented that the next step may be to look towards Latin America and Africa, given the shared traditions and proximity. He may be right.

Manchester currently seems very inter-ested in establishing connections with other cultures, countries or localities. This has taken shape in the organization of several festivals and initiatives in the city, including Asian Manchester Triennial Shisha or Road Trip and M/R, carried out by or within the Lionel Dobie Project. However, university students do not usually travel abroad as part of student exchanges, possibly due to the fact that university language courses are not covered by regular registration fees and do not count towards the global grade.3 In addition, residencies are not usually longer than four months. Nevertheless, experi-ences have emerged in other contexts, for instance Interactions –an exchange between artists from Manchester and Edinburgh and M/R, an exchange between artists from Manchester and Rennes. Participants have commended these experiences not only from an educational perspective, but also as a way to increase their networking and promote

3 Lencky, James; The Debut’ by James Lencky (Rennes Project Manager), 2013, http://man-ren-exchange.tumblr.com/page/3

their work elsewhere.4 In this context, it is important to note the role played by the UK Arts Council whose support is instrumental to many of these initiatives, large and small. Furthermore, on the occasion of the 2012 London Olympics, subsidies were granted for numerous projects that encouraged an exchange between cultures and advanced cultural diversity. This led to the organization of several events around the city over the course of the year, including Cotton: Global Threads at the Whitworth Gallery, among many others. At present, students and emerging art-ists who develop and put into practice their ideas and projects with a view to growing as individuals and professionals are faced with numerous obstacles. Austerity, cutbacks in the field of culture and education, unpaid or underpaid jobs are premises that seem to have been accepted as the norm both in the field of art and in the contemporary job market in general. Given the current situa-tion, artists are frozen in an “emergent” state almost indefinitely. The Souvenir Identities initiative was easily set up, as it did not require infrastructures beyond those owned by the participating artists and allowed them to converse, using the Internet, and reflect upon contemporary artistic practices in a society equipped with technologies that can connect, in seconds, people who live thousands of kilometres apart. They also allowed partici-

4 Morrison, Katy; Manchester|Rennes Exchange: A Space where Art, Artists and Audience can meet, 2013, http://man-ren-exchange.tumblr.com/page/4

museum and offshoots of it take place in the city of Vic. This proposal is still under-way, after they were contacted by The Walk Exchange —a group that organises psycho-geographical walks in New York City—, and involves a group of people sharing the same route, at the same time, for the same duration. Over the course of the route, par-ticipants gather visual material and objects, which they subsequently send by regular post to a group from another city. The walk ends with a short Skype conversation. Each place keeps the box as a gift for taking part in the experience. The proposal is still underway.

Leaving aside momentarily the ex-changes between people from different countries, we find Inter-Accions, a col-laborative proposal between students from the Fine Arts Faculty (UB) and the ETSAB and ETSAV schools of Architecture (UPC) in Barcelona. The project is based on the organization of an educational activity for students from both institutions in order to create a collective experience, with the ex-change of tools and knowledge as the main methodological basis, with a view to design-ing interferences in relational spaces within the city.

From the continent–Island to the peripheral–Island. Manchester-Tenerife

Islands, regardless of their size, are always closed off, delimited units that end where the sea and the air begins. On an island one feels both isolated from the continental

reality and in the thick of everything that is going on in the island, where things are magnified and seem to triple in size. These two locations share the common denomina-tor of being on an island, but within this concept of the island, each belongs to different ecosystems. One is peripheral, Tenerife, a location that conjures up endless idyllic images for the foreign eye – white sands, turquoise water and palm trees. The inhabitants of the other, Great Britain, consider it continental, often disassociating it from Europe, referring to it as something to which they do not belong. Manchester, as a city for exchange, decentralizes the visual references that spring to mind when thinking of the UK: London, red buses, royal guards and the London Eye. Visitors expect a whole visual register that is non-existent and quite often reproduced solely for tourist purposes – Manchester Eye. This exchange reveals these conflicts and a host of others, in different languages and cultures, although negotiating common ground. In terms of the specifics of each place, art in the Canary Islands and in Tenerife, particularly, is a small circuit – although there have been a number of exhibitions showcasing artworks by international art-ists, such as Bill Viola at SAC. There are numerous spaces and initiatives run by young people, such as El Polvorín, La Piscina Editorial and El Apartamento – the latter concluded just a few years ago. In this con-text, it accommodates a range of opportuni-ties for emerging artists to acquire certain relevance in the local panorama. However, said opportunities fizzle out and force them to emigrate to other locations. Consequently,

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pants to challenge preconceived ideas and different points of view. We live in a difficult social and economic reality, where creativity and collaboration can appear as basic strategies to move forwards,5 although the question that arises is ‘where to?’ The crisis is causing a great stir and only a few will succeed in their choices in this uncertain future. Nevertheless, it seems worth bearing in mind the concept of “mov-ing forwards” and sporadically asking where to, questioning each step. Then, at least, the progression will be made at a planned and deliberate pace. Consequently, it is time to resort to new experiences that do not require major resources to develop skills and tools based on common analysis and criticism. Lastly, we have access to a huge amount of technological resources that open up infinite possibilities, although that does not imply we are surrounded by a great diversity of discourses. The ability to imagine and reinvent belongs to people. Similarly, the ability to communicate and to find languages to do so are critical tools that allow us to reflect upon, create and change our environ-ment.6 To conclude, this experience does not attempt to replace “face to face” personal relationships; instead it aims to analyse other possibilities in hostile times with a view to opening a space where we can exchange

5 Selvas, Sergi; Arias, Nora; Carrasco, Marta & L. Fermoselle, Borga; Temáticas y conceptos; ¿Qué es Inter-Accions?, 2013, http://www.inter-accions.org/content/tem%C3%A0tica-i-conceptes

6 Selvas, Sergi; Arias, Nora; Carrasco, Marta & L. Fermoselle, Borga; Temáticas y conceptos; ¿Qué es Inter-Accions?, 2013, http://www.inter-accions.org/content/tem%C3%A0tica-i-conceptes

preconceived thoughts and pool our differ-ent approaches to our doing and seeing.

Lasting souvenirs, memories, identities, places, moments and details

Martí Manen

MomentsThere are moments that are complicated, where no rules apply. Moments that trigger something unknown. Souvenir Identities aimed to generate moments like those. Starting points, unstable springboards from which to plunge into the unknown. Moments, places, maps. And being lost.

MapsTransform a fabric into an abstract repre-sentation of contents that narrate a spatial sequence. Maps have always defined our relationship with places. Maps have become supposedly inclusive tools and have become a series of GPS locations that update in real time, with objective material, data and information. Supposedly. But maps are still flat. The earth is still flat. Time, the process and forgotten moments are lost on a map and cannot be depicted. What is constant wins, the temporary will end up disappearing; defining moments will not become a map. Time involves layers, it involves disloca-tions, hesitation and doubt.; not knowing the exact place, the exact moment, not knowing exactly what is going on. Time is experienced before it escapes. The map forgets its peo-ple, its emotions and its doubts.

PlacesRecall a place. Recall the images that place

conjures up. Now recall two places at the same time and immediately images become less evident. In a world where digital distances are measured in nanoseconds, actions and thoughts take place at such speed that by considering the physicality of a place, one is surely forced to take a pause. A place is not its image, but we can hardly escape customary tags. Quickly, we need an answer, regardless of what it is. Quickly, we need to know what we are talking about without los-ing sight of the path ahead.

With the evolution of social networks, images are now loaded with signs, with textual content to facilitate their indexation. Images were once a system used to embed knowledge; they have currently become the context in which to deposit said content. The image has become a desktop, a plane, a container. The digital image has opened up to other figures that are no longer the pos-sibilities that resided in chemistry or physics. The image contains more than the image itself. Gone are the options of the image as an image (as in RAW files); these images contain stories, comments, names of people, connections, wishes, bombs, whatever we want, any type of content that we now man-age without control.

Images are places in which to stack information. This also applies to “real” places. A place needs to be identified in order to be something. Tags enable recog-nition and recognition enables tranquillity. One place, two places. The relationship between places is established by means of interconnecting tags. Twinned cities. Similar landscapes. Shared sensations. Visit a place

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perficiality. It is set off by communicating the basics. Then, the focus is on the pores, the details, to decode the layers of the images. Juxtaposing images involves a disas-sembly and, also the possibility of a nar-rative. Both images are opposed, and that opposition generates an original communica-tion code. Sometimes impossible, sometimes remarkably plausible.

Moments IIMy brother, younger than me, laughs in the photo after stealing a sailor’s cap at an open air café. The sailor and his pals are in shock. My brother is clowning around wear-ing an enormous cap. He must be about 4 years old in the picture. The terrace is lo-cated on a mountain. The sailors are out of place. They look out of place. They are sail-ors, but they are also tourists. I can’t remem-ber whether I’m in the photo, but I was shier than my brother and I wouldn’t dare steal a sailor’s cap.

ConversationsConversations have occupied a prime posi-tion in the process of creating Souvenir Identities. Conversations as a system to weave content, conversations as a place to define the process. Artists converse and establish concepts as they speak, if anything can be established. Go with the flow, said Inés Peña and Alex Howes without finding common ground. Let’s see how it goes, said Óscar Hernández and Jonathon Beattie, far from convinced. Tigers in the zoo end up walking the same path over and over again. The same steps, the same gestures, the same pauses, attempting to

make something happen, to find something, a surprise, a meaning.

At times, conversations are like tigers in the zoo. They attempt to find a meaning without actually knowing whether there is hope. Long-distance conversations imply that the codes hidden in other languages are not as recognisable. A conversation with a stranger by email. Or using any other electronic written communication system. We’re out of touch with time, we’ve forgotten pauses, we’ve lost the ability to recognise irony. The problems are evident, but so are the possibilities. Add two languages to the conversation. Add the fact that using one of the languages makes one of the speakers feel insecure and the other feel somewhat guilty. It also affects the duration of the conversation, the tone, hints, friendliness and wishes. Yet, the possibilities are there, interweaving, taking prime position until they need to be left behind.

AirplanesAirplanes unloading tourists. The same airplanes that transfer workers. The same airplanes used to cheer on footballs teams heading out to play a competition match. It is becoming increasingly difficult to live in areas where planes are not a standard means of transport but it is not that long ago that in certain locations, such as islands, airplanes changed the way of life. In a way, islands were no longer on standby; they became a slight time gap.

SouvenirsWe could spend a long time discussing the need for souvenirs. About taking away

through another’s references. Layering places over places.

In places we seek systems to share gazes, to help the communication flow and to make physical experience meaningful. Speed, in relation to a place necessarily involves starting from someone else’s experi-ence. This square is like that square. This museum means the same thing as that other museum. This building is that other building in another city.

ProcessesThroughout the evolution of a work of art, its definition, creation and presentation are becoming less exact. The combination of situations, different interconnecting time lines, the critical need for constant redefini-tion bring about a constituent process and result in the work undertaken generating the artwork. Work, production, artwork. Influenc-ing the process involves a change of register in the artwork. Therefore, processes involve the work itself, but also a connection with the context, the constant need for comprehen-sion and the potential for evaluation. Nobody said it would be easy to plunge into the process. Or into the context. When art wants to be part of the environment, when its of-fering is open to all, when it aims to generate a dialogue, a series of questions arise that entail a necessary dose of modesty, since the romantic figure no longer represents us and since part of the creative process will be backed by others and other places.

Souvenir Identities / Identidades souvenirThe Souvenir Identities project suggests a potential artistic relationship between two

places, between two ways of understand-ing distance. Miriam C. Cabeza defines coordinates, Manchester and Tenerife, and lifestyles; the continent-island and the peripheral-island. The project seeks mo-ments, accepts the risks of the process and observes the appearance of other places along the way. Berlin, for instance, will also appear on this artistic map as an axis be-tween two points. One of the results, which every process avoids, will take shape as an exhibition, but many other “results” will ap-pear as the project evolves. The definition of identity, be it personal or localized; dialogue as the grounds for definition; the direction of the gaze, inwards or outwards, among many other elements at stake.

TreasureThe literary image of the island is closely linked to its outline on a map. Stevenson. The unknown, the goal, the treasure. For an island to become literature, it should not be too big. One can always make out the frontiers on literary islands. The map, the plan, is visible. The board hides its counters, its movements, its dangers.

ImagesInterconnecting two images, returning to the notion of the image as a vessel, as a place. Two. Suggesting a dialogue. Involving two people. Souvenir Identities combines people and images. It is not the same. The image of one person opposite the other, the image of a “personal” place that “is represented” opposite another “personal” “represented” place. Explaining oneself to another using common ground, assumed ideas, clichés, su-

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The Net Nets collect remnants, remains. Trawling de-livers surprises and involves constant main-tenance to keep the nets in suitable working condition. Souvenir Identities exists on the Net, on the World Wide Web. In different lo-cations, under different coordinates. In social contexts like Facebook, where Souvenir Iden-tities is tagged as an artist. In the news, with a feature on the project winning an award from the Fundación Mapfre Guanarteme. In specific contents on Tumblr, Cargo Collective, YouTube. In connections between participat-ing artists. In tagged images. In videos. In material linked to participating institutions. In paper boats. In screens. In lines on the floor. In open windows that shed light on spaces. In handwritten letters. In passport photos. In voices. In codes. In remnants, in elements that come together now and will trigger other combinations further down the road. In islands that connect, in flexible moments.

Airplanes IIMy first flight with Internet onboard was thanks to Norwegian. If it’s there, you use it. No question about it. Airplanes are no longer spaces without Internet and without telephones. These islands have disappeared. Paths have disappeared. Moments, maps, places, process, images, conversation. Memory, speed.

something that aspires to be the image of a place without actually being genuine. One of the most interesting elements of a souvenir is its nature as a constructed element. Like a landscape. Like a gaze.

ExhibitionThe exhibition as a constructed element. Like a landscape. Like a glance. The exhibition is what we want to remain, the object that re-minds us of the emotion of special moments and colours. The exhibition as a reason to return, to remember the journey, to return to what has been lost. In Souvenir Identities, the exhibition was a goal, but it was also something to avoid, a fear, something that was pushed to the back until the last minute. When working on collaborative processes, the exhibition means the end of the journey. One has to translate the untranslatable to trigger another process beyond the former’s lack of control. First two artists talk about what they want to do before they hopefully get down to doing something. Time goes by and they adjust their voices, their words, their ways of understanding the place. They settle on things, and then they go back to the drawing board, over and over and over again. Yet, the exhibition verges closer, like that port or airport that indicates the end is near, it’s all over. Then, another process may appear; a process beyond the control of those two artists. It is no longer their process, no longer their words, their tone, their attempts to understand. The exhibition opens up to other processes, to other words and both artists will realize they are no longer there, they no longer exist; the story is now something else.

MemoryDocumentation always implies certain de-gree of fiction. Accepting that documen-tation as fiction is liberating in the way we work with it.

SpeedCombining communication platforms gener-ates monsters. We don’t speak on the phone, it’s too direct, so we combine at least three channels to establish indirect contact. A good part of them leave a trace. A good part of the communicative process entails making sure there is someone on the other side. The system glitches, voices are lost, messages are left hanging. AG and MT converse without knowing when the other will show up, won-dering where the other is. Sometimes, a mes-sage is delivered to the recipient’s house the minute it is written, but its actual reception remains in the air. Sometimes, messages are left in public spaces (online or wherever) for one of the recipients to actually be that per-son we want to communicate with. Response times are not stable. The speed depends on the platform of choice, on the possibility of connecting to a network, on all the elements that shape our life and our day-to-day.

IslandsTwo memories about islands. The former refers to a real island, the latter to an imagi-nary island. In the former, a seagull pecks a child on the head. In the latter, islanders as-sume that without an island they cannot feel at home in their internal solitude. The island as the ultimate definition of self. Inescapable.

34 35

Fase I.

Alejandro Gopar y Mariana TorresFrancisco Torres y Laura GowerInés Peña y José Jurado / Inés Peña y Alex HowesOscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

36 37

Fase I.En esta primera fase, el intercambio se plantea como una dinámica acción-reacción. De esta forma, a partir de un pri-mer elemento detonante, se envía el siguiente en reacción. A su vez, el tercer elemento será en respuesta a éste anterior y así sucesivamente, estableciendo un diálogo. El factor de la acción-reacción, hace que el resultado no pueda ser contro-lado al cien por cien por ninguno de los artistas, por lo que permanece en estado de negociación y adaptación constante, y siempre en reacción a lo que les ha sido enviado.

El intercambio dio comienzo tras concluir una convocatoria cuyo criterio de selección se basó en la posibilidad o imposi-bilidad de encontrar parejas afines, por su trabajo o intereses comunes. Esta manera de selección por generación de parejas, parecía la más adecuada para facilitar el establecimiento de unos puntos comunes iniciales entre los artistas, pues, dadas las circunstancias en las que se produciría el intercambio, éste podría resultar complejo al principio. En esta primera fase, las parejas que se establecieron fueron Mariana Torres, de origen portugués pero que vive y estudia en Machester y Alejandro Gopar, Jonathon Beattie y Oscar HR; Laura Gower y Francisco Torres, Alex Hower e Inés Peña, de Manchester, y Tenerife respectivamente. El intercambio en esta última pareja se interrumpió y a Alex Hower le sustituyó José Jurado. Hay que mencionar que el intercambio se realiza a partir de la disponibilidad de los artistas, permitiendo la entrada y salida del mismo siempre que sea necesario. De esta manera se ga-rantiza el compromiso con la actividad y como consecuencia su calidad. El contenido, la cantidad y el planteamiento del diálogo, debe ser acordado por las parejas, y cada una de ellas le da forma a su intercambio según su interés.

Una vez creadas las parejas e iniciado el intercambio, se rea-lizaron una serie de reuniones grupales con los artistas parti-cipantes de cada ciudad, con el fin de fortalecer las relaciones entre ellos, romper el hielo y debatir sobre lo que cada uno esperaba de la experiencia. En esta primera fase, fue crucial el apoyo a los participantes e invertir mucho tiempo en dina-mizar las relaciones. En un primer momento, resultó difícil conseguir que las relaciones fueran fluidas y permitieran un buen ritmo de trabajo. Ello fue debido no solo al ya de por sí carácter impersonal de las relaciones por internet, al estable-cimiento de nuevas dinámicas de trabajo o a las dificultades a causa de la distinta lengua, sino que también trataban de resolver el ritual necesario de introducción, reorientarse den-tro de una nueva situación, presentarse ¿quiénes eran?, ¿qué hacían?, ¿qué les gustaba?. E definitiva, establecer conexiones mínimas a partir de las cuales preguntarse qué hacer.

Complementariamente, se creó un grupo de Facebook, con el fin de tener una espacio a través del cual comunicar la in-formación que concernía a todo el grupo y, al mismo tiempo, cumplía la función de foro, donde se podían hacer sugeren-cias, preguntas, colgar links de interés, etc.

Terminado este primer período, se realizó una exposición con los trabajos resultantes en Rogue Project Space en Manchester. Rogue Project Space, es un espacio expositivo situado en Rogue Artist Studio, uno de los centros de pro-ducción independiente más grandes del noroeste del Reino Unido, ubicado en Chapeltown Mill, antiguo edificio de la época industrial. Esta exposición además, estuvo adscrita al Free For Arts Festival de arte joven en la ciudad. En dicha expo-sición colaboró Sheila Hernández, artista participante, cuya pareja de intercambio en Manchester tuvo que abandonar tempranamente el proyecto.

Además, Identidades Souvenir fue acogida como parte de la primera LDP Chalet Residency, en el espacio Lionel Dobie Pro-ject donde, a lo largo de tres semanas, se realizó una práctica

38 39

Stage I:

During the first stage, the exchange was tack-led from an action-reaction dynamic. In other words, an initial element triggers a reaction. Then, the third element arises in response to the second and so forth, establishing a dialogue. Given the action-reaction factor, the result cannot be controlled completely by any of the artists and remains in a constant state of negotiation and adaptation, always react-ing to the previous element. The exchange commenced after a selection process based on the possibility or impossibility of finding similar partners, in relation to their work or common interests. Pair-work was chosen as the most suitable scenario to establish initial common points between the artists since, given the circum-stances in which the exchange was to take place, the relationship may be slightly com-plicated at first. The pairs established for the first stage were Mariana Torres, a Portuguese artist based in Manchester, and Alejandro Gopar, Jonathon Beattie and Oscar HR; Laura Gower and Francisco Torres, Alex Hower and Inés Peña, from Manchester and Tenerife respectively. The exchanges between the latter were interrupted and Alex Hower was replaced by José Jurado. All exchanges were carried out depending on the artists’ avail-ability, with them being free to come and go as necessary. This method guaranteed their commitment to the activity and the quality of the results. The content, quantity and ap-proach to the dialogue were agreed upon by

the pairs and each two artists shaped their exchange to suit them. Once the pair had been established and the exchange had begun, group meetings were set up with the artists from each city so as to strengthen relationships, break the ice and discuss their expectations. During the first stage, it was crucial to support the participants and spend a lot of time nurtur-ing the relationships. Initially it was difficult to establish fluid interactions and set up a good work pace. This was not only due to the impersonal nature of Internet relationships, to having to establish new work dynamics and working in a different language, but also to having to find their bearings in a new situa-tion, familiarize themselves with their partner, introduce themselves… Who were they? What did they do? What did they like? They had to establish a minimum series of connections that would trigger their interaction. A group was also set up on Facebook for participants to share information with the group, which also acted as a forum where they could make suggestions, ask questions, share links, etc.

The artwork resulting from this initial period was showcased at an exhibition at Rogue Project Space in Manchester. Rogue Project Space is an exhibition space in Rogue Artist Studio, one of the largest independent production centres operating in the North West of the United Kingdom, located in Chapeltown Mill, an old industrial building. The show was also linked to the city’s Free For Arts Festival devoted to young art. Participating artist Sheila Hernández, whose exchange partner in Manchester had to pull

experimental que pretendió conectar obras producidas en el contexto tinerfeño y mancuniano, empleando los distintos elementos compartidos en el grupo interno del proyecto. El resultado, expuesto al público en general, fue un entramado de elementos, a modo de hipervínculos, en el que se entablaba un diálogo entre aquellos que se encontraban en el espacio cibernético – facebook y blog de la LDP Chalet Residency – y los que se encontraban en el espacio físico — Tenerife, Manches-ter, estudio y lugar expositivo. Se trataba de enlazar ambos lugares entorno al habitar en cada uno de ellos y su posible relación, en cuanto a historia y producción artística, tratando de situar el proyecto en un contexto teórico cambiante, ya que éste tiene un carácter vivo y procesual que se va adaptando 1.

1 http://ldpchaletresidency.tumblr.com/

40 41Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres

Alejandro Gopary Mariana Torres

9 de Julio de 2012 21:42 AlejandroHi! or Hola!?How are u? 21:55 Marianahello!! im good thanks, how r u? do u have a site or some way i can see your work?mine’s at marianatorres.co.ukand i guess we can start from there?.. do you have any ideas of how we are going to do this? hahaim currently without net in my house, i will try to keep contact as much as possible, but if i take a few days to answer - this is why - but should be fine 22:37 Alejandro: ) Ok, no problem Mariana!, first, sorry for my english... I think, nobody knows how to do this! but we are very clever ^^

we got to find a solution to know when can u connect. And I will be try to be at the same as u. my site is working, but i also have a tumbrl like a teen, cause in my art school this and obligation u.u I will be uploading last works this week. http://alejandrogopar.tumblr.com/dude, Mariana do u speak spanish?, where u from?well, what can we do to start ?,http://alejandrogopar.tumblr.com/alejandrogopar.tumblr.com

16 de Julio de 2012 15:57 Marianahello, sorry again – i wont have internet for 2 more weeks... its complicated!i dont speak spanish no, im portu-guese

out of the project early, showcased her work at the exhibition.

Souvenir Identities was also selected as part of the first LDP Chalet Residency, at the Lionel Dobie Project. Over the course of three weeks, the goal was to connect artworks pro-duced in Tenerife and Manchester using the elements shared within the group. The result, which was exhibited for the general public, was a collection of elements, presented as hyperlinks, to strike up a dialogue between those located in the cybernetic space –Facebook and the LDP Chalet Residency blog– and in a physical space — Tenerife, Manchester, studio and exhibition venue. The objective was to link both spaces by inhabit-ing them and their potential relationship, in terms of their history and artistic production, attempting to situate the project in a chang-ing theoretical context, given its nature as a living, procedural experience with the ability to adapt 1.

1 http://ldpchaletresidency.tumblr.com/

42 Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres 43Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres

6 de agosto de 2012 11:54 Alejandrobloghttp://www.tumblr.com/dashboardpass: togoart2012mailexchangemanten@gmail.compass: togoart2012No problem Mariana, im helping my family in work and this is good for sleep and beach time. I made a blog, (tumblr) if you prefer wix or another... I dont have any problem. I also made a mail account for the register. I agree with you, is a good way to begin.Tumblrwww.tumblr.com 13:09 Alejandrohave you seen miriam text about Sou-venir identities ...? i dont know if she send you?

7 de agosto de 2012 11:57 Alejandrohttp://togoart2012.tumblr.com/Exchange Man/Ten 12togoart2012.tumblr.com

14 de agosto de 2012 14:02 MarianaHello, I apologize once more... I’ve been with Miriam yesterday and have some ideas now and will have internet from now on so will keep in touch! I’ll email u tomorrow everything that I’m thinking about, meanwhile if u want to add something to the blog? Then I can respond to that xx

17 de agosto de 2012

12:40 Marianahey i added a little something to the blog 10:49 Alejandrohello!XDyour less is so interesting 11:11 Alejandrowe are starting yuihuu!!! 11:11 Marianaif i think of other things to add u dont mind that i do right? or do u want me to wait that u add and then me?because the more things we add, the more we have to “talk” aboutand my “less” is really limited haha 11:13 Alejandroi dont mind you can add whatever u want 11:13 Marianabrilliantyes, we are finaly comunicating wohhosee u soon ! x 11:14 Alejandroand all i add might be questionits only a ideaanhave u a nice daybye

29 de agosto de 2012 12:03 AlejandroI didn’t see your answer sorry!!! the my its a joke , but can u ex-plain something about your less? my english is low for play with words.

30 de agosto de 2012 12:15 Marianaits just the word less ... ive ben thinking on how artists have this ambition to create and “add” infor-

to be honest i have no idea where to start :Si can see you like video art? but you also have some installation/sculptural work right?i didnt find a statement in ur site, do you mind giving me an idea of what your work is about? 21:16 AlejandroOk, no problem Mariana, im making this blog. But now im traveling un-til tomorrow. Im going to Fuerteven-tura, have you ever seen Fuerteven-tura anytime? you must come... In a few days i will send you a text or upload some texts into the blog. And im sorry , i havent seen your blog yet, because yesterday i finished an expositive work. Tomorrow i will do everything.

19 de Julio de 2012 14:05 AlejandroHi! Mariana, im watching your wix blog again. I think that both works are easy to connect My girlfriend is helping me to traslate my sta-ment. I will send you soon.

26 de Julio de 2012 23:01 AlejandroHi! , i send a text of my work, but i always try re-write because my position also is rethink, im not a video artist, photo maker... i try to use only the most approximate kind kind of representation. Im reading all miriams texts of this project and then i will write some-thing to send you ok?. If you prefer a specific kind of method or all you mean about this project... im lis-tening. How was your holiday?

statments and others works.pdf

31 de Julio de 2012 19:28 AlejandroHelloMariana have you seen the links that Miriam have post. Is this the way that she want of us?... I think that we need blog.

1 de agosto de 2012 13:40 Marianaheya im so sorry for not being in contact! having no internet at home is really complicated!i agree, maybe we should do a blog, and start writting ideas/adding im-ages and then we can reflect and make work from that. For example, I make a piece of work/idea and you do something in reac-tion from that, and then i go from you made ... ?So we can start having some kind of dialogue - could be photos or videos from internet, anything we find in-teresting: or actual pieces of work; and there will be a point were we find something interesting in common and than we start working together on that 1 idea/interest? So it would be like an introduction for a few weeks to understand each other, if you know what i mean.What do you think? We could try to add information to the blog eve-ryday (try! because my internet is limited!) and start “communicating” ideas.If you’re ok with it ill do the blog and add something to it and then you can add something, and then me, etc ...

44 Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres 45Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres

that? Why the alarm?This is just an idea to answer your LESS and I ask that before you post it? if you see something interesting that we continue and but then noth-ing happens;)

4 de septiembre de 2012 12:03 Marianaheya! this is interesting! i like this way of “hiding” meaning.i liked very much the sound piece but dont understand how is re-lates to a mesostic ... but u should definitely do more, the voice is a cold machines yes but also very poetic and relaxingyes post it

11 de septiembre de 2012 12:03 AlejandroHello Mariana!, Last week I posted the only sound I have to upload the image. . . Can you think of any ideas to follow? And sorry for the waiting

12 de septiembre de 2012 11:59 Marianahello! yes i saw it 22 de septiembre de 2012 21:11 Marianahello! i added a video to the blog, i did it when i was in portugal. i guess in an underlying of the culture-clash of coming to englad and the over-working and so much information that the reaction is to stop and be with yourself

do u have any idea of what materi-als we might need for the show? coz miriam wants to know already :Si was thinking maybe we should get 1 or 2 projectors (or tvs, but i pre-fer projectors), coz it might be the best bet for our work! (or not?) and speakers too? what would you like?and as well, are you coming? if you are, would you consider doing a per-formance?

25 de septiembre de 2012 00:13 AlejandroAbout the materials, i don’t care if we use a projector or tvs... Often i use low tech, but we can use the projectors if this is the best way to represent... I have a megaphone that records audio and reproduce, made in china (5€) that i can send you by postal. Or we can use speak-ers but the megaphone is like a syn-dicalist way to reclaim free time, more holidays or rights... And about performance... I like so much the idea of do a performance with you, but i didn’t have in mind going there... but we can try do something with internet on live, like a videochat. I like your video

mation to the world, but is it nec-essary? most of the time i feel that we just create for no purpose at all - we know we want to create so we do, i guess its instinct, but right now im trying to make work without doing much at all... 12:27 AlejandroUps i forgot that i sent you the text and i didn’t have that in mind. i’m going to think something about it now i have clear the meaning of that LESS

3 de septiembre de 2012 21:14 AlejandroLessThe minimal representation. Since all of the performance limits were reached in the 70 would be absurd to continue dedicating delimiting the language of art. Rather we should use to expand our position to ef-fect minimal. Ours is very specific, at least in the beginning. “LESS” a term that even ambiguous for its lack of context, specifically as art-language representation of a map as if it were the initial conceptual reading welcomes visitors to our virtual space. Funny thing is that when language is sparse (a short phrase, word,...) tend to develop brain activity almost like a paint-ing that invites you to look at their history, in their des-context. Perhaps of all symbolic languages in the form of writing that invites more imagine, to be either the Braille images, although many of those who use it may be unable to create the images as we know that we can see. It’s funny that the

basic form of representation and capitalism, a single dot “.” Box is a micro base structure braille. A compound sensory language minimalist paintings not say objectively, but suggests or activates an abstraction that can represent each one for him-self, because there is no accurate reading (the image of the braille word and image that receives a blind Braille that word has nothing to do, let alone experience this person has with that word and what it repre-sents)Another feature of this language is its contempt for conventional lan-guage, full of connotations diputas to confuse their meaning and used in the day to influence the masses in the scurfy power struggle that keeps the world ensnared by the same disease that always Braille tube ... reminds me of visual poetry 60 70. As the “mesostic” of John Cage,I have attached a sample audio of your estate interpreted as a “mes-ostic” only now is the cold machine which reads, a voice translator online.http://www.fbu.edu.uy/alfabeto/alfabeto-online.htmEscriba braille online | FBU

www.fbu.edu.uyMy intention is not to deceive but to braille. Invite to read more meaningless language own artistic language. The computer read mesostic also seem curious, dictate pauses, silences, morse, something .. but

 

46 Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres 47Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres

with your lessin a similar color than the wallde manera que apenas se pueda ver, sea menos perceptible, luego un mensaje sin palabras que te envio en boceto tambien podria pintarse en pared, tu video, y uno que te voy a enviar de la reina desintegran-dose en puntitos y pixeles en pleno mensaje(esto aun tienes que juzgarlo y verlo) luego te lo envio. El meg-aphono lo dejamos sonar todo el rato solo que no encuentro por aqui 2 baterias con el mismo conector, pi-las tengo pero baterias no . ¿puedes conseguir alguna?upseso era para miriamits for miriambut i will translate thisand send uis an ideathat she is askin anyonejust so that you can see, less no-ticeable, then a wordless message that you sent could also sketch painted on wall, your video, and one that I will send the Queen disinte-grating into dots and pixels in full post (this even have to try him and see him) then sent it. The megaphono make it sound all the time just can not find around here 2 batteries with the same connector, but I have bat-teries batteries not: (. Could you get some? 14:18 Marianaok... i can see u have a lot of ideas! very good!and i like all of them, but would we be able to show all of it? I like it! If miriam doesnt think its too much Im happy!

The “less” on the wall would be almost invisible right? So that wouldnt attract to much attentionThen the main pieces would be the videos, maybe at opposite sides of the space?And maybe i can use the megaphone at the preview? Like a performance?

14:19 Alejandrois a good ideacan u think in a performance on a few days?ah sorryif u wantchami say that she has a work that be interesting in this kind of ideawait 23:03 Alejandrolook this, what do you think ?On the Initial U.pdfdown is the same wihout the works, in a fusion colors flag

3 de octubre de 2012 12:58 Marianahello! so what were you thinking

im thinking now next post26 de septiembre de 2012

17:10 Marianai LOVE THE MEGAPHONE idea!! 17:13 Alejandro:Swhat can i do with megaphone?want u send the mine to manchester? 17:14 Marianasorry, send u what from manchester? 17:15 Alejandrosorrywant u that i send the megaphone to manchester via postal? 17:15 Marianaoh yes yes i love the idea, i will think about what we can do with iti like that it was made in china, that is very significant when it comes to holidays and free time!28 de septiembre de 2012 16:56 AlejandroYour “less” We can paint on the wall with glue or any product that is almost translucent to invisible. And perhaps a message ..; .. ,. out of our conversation too. What do you think?

29 de septiembre de 2012

18:37 AlejandroWhat do you think about your queen, and my king and them family’s¿??

30 de septiembre de 2012 09:43 Marianahey hmm we could do the glue i guessim not quite sure what to think about queen/king, its pretty much a joke xDim sorry i dont have much time now, on tuesday i will be back to think-ing!! i promise

11:39 Alejandrodont worry but only one more answer, an address for send the megaphone

2 de octubre de 2012 14:03 Marianato be honest, im pretty lost, dont have any ideas at all... a construc-tion for the megaphone would be very difficult im sure. i need to think!! 14:04 Alejandrohi!!right now miriam is asking for our workXDummim thinkin in an installation

48 Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres 49Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres

hello! so do you know if francisco is coming to manchester?im not sure what we can do with it but if comes i can still thinkhow are we going to show your film? can u send it to me somehow by web and i’ll put it on a dvd?are we doing the ‘less’ on the wall? if yes, i need to know what kind of paint to get. or gluemaybe just white paint with water mixed so there is actually less paint than the wall in which it will be painted on

15 de octubre de 2012 11:50 MarianaHello! So the show is almost here!About the paint, thanks for your suggestions but i have another one xD what about if i sand off the letters on the wall? so rather than adding paint to it, we are minimis-ing it. Getting the paint off. I’m just trying to think of a way to do less, rather than moreAbout the megaphone I am absolutely lost to be honest! There’s an actor that is happy to come but im not sure what to do :S Any idea wel-come!! And i will create a hand out with statements about the couples/work, could you send me up to 100 words about what you’ve been thinking about? And about the queen video. And then i will edit if t 12:35 AlejandroI will write to the megaphone Tony Blair’s speech on the invasion of Afghanistan that went up the blog yesterday. If you want you can use that in some way, but you can delete

the message and replace it or edit it.if I think of something to do for the performance ... but I’ve never been one just.The idea of removing paint like me, if you know how to do that is a good idea.I do not understand what you want to write ... About Our exchange??i will record u.u 14:09 Alejandroif one looks at a sculpture exhibi-tion minimalist, you can see how basic shapes interrupt our eyes in space-time in which we find our-selves. These forms cut now and make a representation in the same place, doing cutting representative space for outside, turning the space time representation. The boundary between the spectator and is space-time, or reality.If you take a photo or draw, paint a picture of the view regular, you can also see how these cubes could well be a symbolic language, much like a morse or Braille, languages that could almost be the limit of spoken .A cryptic ambiguity, a reduction of languages, a break in the noise and the formal expression, but induces silencing rethink the ease in and open the mind to deal with the most basic of our spacetime. We look again from the “less” to come back to the needs.

22 de octubre de 2012 11:02 AlejandroThank you, I found very fracil work with you. I have seen little but I

about doing with this flag? 14:52 AlejandroThis is not a flag, is to turn to a political speech, a few words and turn them into an image, almost altering his ssignificado visual po-etry, almost inverting ... Maybe it sufieciente with imrpimirla in dinA4 or A3 including the title of the speech and the issue that has been ... what do you think about this?have you seen the video? and what we do with the “sculpture” to show you the other day? need something? ship-ping or not?

4 de octubre de 2012 00:04 http://youtu.be/8DW3uLK94kc umm this is another idea, i need some hours to edit the audio. tomorrow i will do. Like you? say me your opinion less in a speakingyoutu.be

XD perdona pero pense que te habia enviado ya el ejemplo del video a ti. Se lo envie por error a miriam u.u sorry but I thought I had already sent the video example to you. Re-ferring you uu mistakenly miriam 12:47 Alejandroif one looks at a sculpture exhibi-tion minimalist, you can see how basic shapes interrupt our eyes in space-time in which we find our-selves. These forms cut now and make a representation in the same place, doing cutting representative space for outside, turning the space time representation. The boundary between the court and is space-time, or re-

ality.If you take a photo or draw, paint a picture of the space from a concret, you can also see how these cubes could well be a symbolic language, much like a morse or Braille, lan-guages that could almost be the limit of spoken .A cryptic ambiguity, a reduction of languages, a break in the noise and the formal expression, but induces silencing rethink the ease in and open the mind to deal with the most basic of our spacetime. We look again from the “less” to 18:10 Marianaoh my god so muh information xD 12:33 AlejandroI think the projector can be most useful, but if we can only get a tv not matter. The megaphone I have a question. Signs? Recorded our conversation? silences or pauses recorded speech and signs tony blair on the invasion of Afghanistan ... the second has to do with something that I have not even gone to the blog, but I think I will pass on pdf. Megaphone only records between 10 and 15 seconds 12:37 Marianaok, because i would prefer a projec-tor but im not sure theres enough :S i will see todayim just wondering is there any need to record a message?i just emailed an actor, lets see if he can do it.because if not, i dont know if i will :S

12 de octubre de 2012 22:42 Mariana

50 Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres 51Alejandro Gopar y Mariana Torres

like what I’ve seen. If you want to write another to add what we have done in total, and I’ll step you add what you want and what we got. This gives you a longer text if you need it for the blog. Is that okay?Anyway you would have to correct me that this text translated by google translator: P 11:04 Marianaalright, so if its ok with you i will “edit” the text. i will correct and add more information xand what is ‘fracil’? xD 11:05 AlejandroXD easy with mistakes

11:06 Marianaah facil! thats great! i enjoy work-ing with u too i have a show this week so will be very busy but next i will start thinking about new work and add more to the blog x

LESS Si uno mira una exposición de esculturas minimalistas, podrá ver cómo unas formas básicas interrumpen nuestra visión del lugar en que encuentran. Estas esculturas reducen a lo mínimo la representación material por medio de su forma, cortan la realidad de su corte ornamental hacia fuera convirtiendo lo real en re-presentación. El límite entre el espectador y el espacio-tiempo, o la realidad, y su paralelo imaginario.  Tomando una foto, dibujando o pintando un cuadro desde un punto de vista nor-mal de la exposición, también se puede ver cómo estos cubos se asemejan a un lenguaje simbólico, como un morse o Braille. Lenguas que casi podrían ser el límite del lenguaje hablado.  Esto supone una ambigüedad críptica, una reducción de los lenguajes, un descanso en medio del ruido y la expresión formal, que tal vez induce a silenciar, revisar lo simple, y abrir la mente para hacer frente a las más básicas problemáticas de nues-tro espacio-tiempo.

LESS If you look at a minimalist sculpture exhibition, you can see how basic shapes interrupt our vi-sion of the place where they are. These sculptures reduce the material representation to a mini-mum through their shape, cut the reality out of their ornamental cut representing becoming reality. The boundary between the viewer and space-time, or reality, and its imaginary parallel. Taking a photo, drawing or painting a picture from a normal viewing standpoint, you can also see how these cubes resemble a symbolic language, such as Morse code or Braille. Languages that could almost be the limit of spoken language. This is cryptic ambiguity, a reduction in language, a break from the noise and formal expres-sion, which may induce silence, be it simple, and open the mind to deal with the most basic problems of our space-time.

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Francisco Torres y Laura Gower

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Laura Gower

Conversations

Francisco Torres

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I didn’t go to Manchester for the beaches because there aren’t any… I came for the city life on a smaller scale (didn’t want to live in Lon-don…)

FranciscoWhy did you not want to live in London?

LauraToo expensive in every way – rents are ridiculously high, you have to travel on the bus or the underground (which is not cheap) to get anywhere and to travel home on the train would cost a fortune unless I booked a ticket three months in advance. Now that I am looking for jobs within the arts, and almost all the vacancies are in London, I try to remind myself that the number of people applying for these jobs in London (compared to Manchester) probably cancels out the benefit of there being extra jobs. Per person, there probably aren’t any extra jobs.

FranciscoBut.. Are you working on store now? If not too much indiscretion, what is the store?

Sounds like paradise to me.( jajajajaja :P)

LauraWhen you say there is sun all year round; that has to be paradise compared to here, where in summer the only difference is the rain is slightly warmer. There is sun and warm weather for literally only a

few weeks of the year. That said, the English are fantastic about complaining about the weather. As soon as the sun comes out it is too hot. The rest of the time it is too cold, or too wet, or too windy. For me, I quite like the cold. I like dressing up in hats and scarves and gloves and I love the snow – though since it hardly ever snows when it does the whole country grinds to a halt. The only thing I really don’t like is the rain. Look at me go-ing on about the weather – it’s so English. Every time I speak to my parents in the phone we talk about the weather – as if we had nothing better to talk about! It just seems an ingrained into English people to talk about the weather to anyone and everyone. Also you talk about the beaches and crystal clear water. Manchester has some beautiful architecture and I think a lot of the city is beauti-ful in its own way – but it can’t compare to the natural beauty of the coast in my opinion – even the English coast. I love the seaside. (I will attach some pictures of the English coast). Wanting to go to the seaside is another very English thing because there aren’t many ma-jor cities on the coast – so going to the seaside is very traditional holiday – though increasingly this is being replaced by seaside holi-days abroad – particularly to Spain.

FranciscoI should go there to check the weather; I have never traveled to a place of rainy weather most of the

year. But I don’t know if I could live in a place like this. It seems sad. I like the cold and winter too. So I don’t mind living in a place, at least I could try, but if it rains all the time it kills me. Where I come from Jerez, the most talked about is that there is no money, no work, no one is fixed in any job and now with Mariano Rajoy as prime minister, education will be only for the rich and the poor can’t afford it. In Tenerife we talk the same things that there isn’t aids for people in need, and to get that you have to fulfill a list of re-quirements. The world of culture is wrong after deducting 63%. The exhi-bition halls don’t give you flyers or invitation a drink on the day of the inauguration. In universities tell us that we travel out, especially to Germany. I talking to you teachers of the College of Fine Arts but I’ve also heard workers and street people say that there is work in Germany. I see that the buildings of Man-chester have to be pretty. The pho-tography where there is on a fore-ground a tram with hints of blue and the background a circular building is awesome and beautiful. The photos of the English coast are beauti-ful, I never would have imagined. I thought everything was building at least is I see when I see something about England-London. By the way, your photos of the canal are beauti-ful, I loved. Maybe the water is not clear but the walk through or near it must be beautiful. Most of the people I’ve met in

Manchester have lived here all their lives, many still living at home with their parents in their twen-ties, and people often ask me why I moved here: I’ ask them why they haven’t left?

FranciscoAnd what they respond when you tell them that?

LauraPeople say they like living at home, they get on well with their parents, so why should they leave? Or they can’t afford to, but many of them run a car – which costs almost as much as renting your own flat theses days. I also get on with my parents and enjoy being at home – but I know I can’t stay there forever, and the longer you leave it, the harder it becomes to leave. I was talking to someone I work with and he said that Manchester was the only city he would want to live in. I asked him if he had lived in any other cities and he said no, but he had visited other cities and he liked Manchester the best. I’m not sure what this means – in England a Goths is some-one who dresses in black clothes with studs, dies their hair black, wears black make up and listens to heavy rock music and is supposedly depressed all the time.

FranciscoOk. This is true, but I’m talking about other Goths. I will try to explain it. I have been researching about it because I too have wondered.

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HISTORYThe Goths were an East Germanic tribe whose two branches, the Visig-oths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe. Around 370, the Huns (a confederation of Eurasian tribes) overran the Visigoths king-dom vast and scattered all Gothic tribes. From this moment, the Visigoths resumed their march west (Central Europe) and nobody could stop them now: in 395 they began an expedition against the Italian pe-ninsula arriving to sack Rome in 410 and established five years later in the Roman province of Hispania (now Spain and Portugal), founding from these facts, a kingdom that would last for the next 300 years and end-ing disappearing by Arab invasion and occupation in 711. Then in 1402, King Enrique III de Castilla granted to Jean de Bethencourt military feudal privi-lege on the Archipelago, beginning the conquest of the Canary Islands until then inhabited by the Guanches Berber root people living independ-ently. Later the Crown of Castilla recovered for itself the right of conquest over the islands which the feudal lords hadn’t been able to oc-cupy. The sovereignty of the Canary Islands was recognized to Castilla in 1479, which delineated the Span-ish and Portuguese territories. The process of incorporation of the Ca-nary Islands would be completed with the completion of the conquest of Tenerife in 1496. It says that the “Goth” more

commonly known and reported in the Canary Islands came. This is a per-son, usually male, from the “front Iberian”, by his own manifestation that enjoyed broad heritage: farm-houses, villas and castles… Also, he was the native of the Islands with arrogance, superiority or imperti-nence, with certain arrogance and cockiness, especially according to his position in the civil, military or ecclesiastical and education of the subject in question. Meaning of Goth: It says the rich and powerful originally from Iberian families that’s confused with the invading Goths, was part of the nobility to be established the Spanish nation.

LauraSo “Goths” are rich people? It seems a perfectly acceptable state of affairs these days to hate rich people – or posh as they are more commonly referred to. To be posh is not a good thing in most circles, and accent is very important. If you are seen to have a posh accent a lot of people will resent you before they even get to know you – because you’re not “one of them”.

FranciscoYou could say that the Goths are coming mainly from Madrid and Bar-celona, the cities “rich” in Spain. But someone can be economically poorer fine talk and is arrogant and cocky and is considered a Goth. In conclusion, one could say that the Goths are the peninsulars who come with an air of grandeur to the Ca-

nary Islands. Ever since I was little, I’ve heard a fill his mouth mothers when their children were studying in ma-jor cities. People said that study to Madrid or Barcelona seems to be more important than in others Span-ish cities. But this not has to be really true. For example, I came to study Fine Arts at Tenerife and eve-ryone told me I was going to study to Seville. I’ve been studying first in Seville and later in Tenerife and Seville is good but is very classic. But the faculty of Tenerife, an un-known place to study, only known to travel on vacation to the beach, is a faculty from my point of view very good in contemporary art.

PHOTOSAs I told you I went to Jerez and two days ago later returned to Ten-erife to start the course and I ex-amine to the exam let me and a work for the call now on September…In my time at Jerez I remembered how The Canary archipelago communi-cates with Spanish peninsula through planes and ships. I have gone twice days in search of some boat… but it is curious I didn’t find any. Usually I always look one like the photo that I sent to the boat at the back of the horizon. So I decided to create a fantasy boat that I not know where they go with certainly but they depart from the island and go to the peninsula. While I cutting fruits and veg-etables remembered the large banana plantations that I photographed in one of the photographs I sent you.

The banana is the most important crop in the Canary Islands and for decades their industry was pro-tagonist of economic growth of the archipelago. I also remembered the Teide. The Teide is a volcano located in the center of the island of Tenerife. With a height of 3.718 meters above sea level is the highest peak in Spain. Currently this volcano is considered the most emblematic natural monument Canario. It is also a major tourist attraction that attracts millions of people from around the world. The Autono-mous Agency for Museums and Centres (OAMC) has been working for months on a project that would enable planetary geologists take Tenerife as a testing ground for the study of Mars. The similarity between the environmental conditions of Tenerife and Mars has turned on the Canarian Island reference point for studies related to the red planet. Today, immigration is an impor-tant issue for the islands because they receive a large influx of im-migrants every day. A sector of the Spanish disagrees with the number of illegal immigration in their country, first because many of them are unemployed and two, because im-migrants use many of the resources of the Spanish. Many foreigners get jobs before the Spanish. Sometimes I feel like an immigrant when I’m in the Canary Islands. Can you believe they don’t want to attend me when I have to go the doctor? They tell me that I have to pay to the healthcare for the being peninsular or make

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appropriate papers to be cared. And that I am Spanish. The cayucos and pateras are famous in Spain, receive the name the various boats that are used by African illegal immigrants trying to arrive to Europe through the Canary Islands and Cape Verde from Morocco, Sa-hara, Mauritania and Senegal. But being too fragile boats for open sea occupants often die. This does not mean that canar-ies are not good people; on the contrary, they are very friendly and very loving. Here, life is lived to another rhythm, is much quieter, everything goes slower. In my opinion, it does not mean that is good or bad. I have often heard to peninsulars the adjective “aplatanados” to those living in the Canary Islands. They have told

me when they knew that I was liv-ing here. I wanted to take pictures of something that I didn’t seem beautiful but I didn’t find much. Not everything on the island is beautiful as always everywhere who attacks the natural landscape. As for example, remove endangered species of Protected Species Catalogue Canario to carry out the creation of an industrial port in an area of marine and terrestrial biodiversity. The strategic position of the Canary archipelago is a key factor to be recognized as an intercon-tinental logistics platform and a bridge of Europe with Africa and Latin America. So I came to take a picture to an electricity tower.

Souvenir Identities

Starting from the mass communication that provides new technologies in the twenty-first century through the network and its multiple connections to social groups of various kinds, it focuses an anthropological study of how, two people in different contexts but also joined and connected by a program of exchange of ideas and information, try to perform in order to create and develop a joint project. In this way, we try to break the individuality of the romantic artist who focuses their project on their own interests, to bring this new approach to a social field and collective, where what prevails is the communication flow between the couple formed, in this case, one of the various nodes that make up this ambitious project. Mancunians and Tinerfeños without being at the same time “converts” to inhabit and live in the key points that mark consecutively Island Continent and Island peripheral. Where emerg-ing conversations and exchanges back and forth with the unknown, questions, worries, to a one ‘other’ different view of the commonly expressed by the indigenous inhabitants. Sending a row of such issues, coupled with the interpretation that each subject gener-ated the shaping and arranging to statements posed, perhaps makes a romantic atmosphere communicative with the “Other.” But at the same time, this subject ‘B’, isn't very different from the subject ‘A’, since the two move in areas that one way or another have been displaced and therefore characterize conforming them as place a part of establishing the communication.

The vision from the point of view ‘Tinerfeño’, reconstructs the vision of an island in the vast desert ocean of the occidental world. One island, accused of mere distraction and getaway for leisure tourism by the most diverse minds that manage their description, is simultaneously bridge between continents.

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Tenerife-peripheral island---------------- continents Europe-America-Africa

This kind of Bermuda Triangle which become Tenerife, it sacralizes as an important policy area, economic and logistics. But to the same time the beauty, the change of pace, time, time zone, the tranquility of this heavenly place make up the force necessary to move this type of movement.

But the atmosphere that surrounding this tourist area floods in one way or another small but great room of the individual, through a beam of light that bounces off the wall and make projections of the world, just as a pinhole camera allows obtain projections external images when processed. Thus, it takes just as if it were a dream, reality and fiction – its projection, its unreal side. And amidst this guidelines flight, the individual, leaving wet by back and forth elusive of the various forms of information that coming to him. The island within the send port, via networking with the global island. Send final to the ‘package’ that makes ‘Island within Island’, the outside is converted now in a strange souvenir. Finishing on the premise, “The Box” as a paradigm of Tenerife. It isn't used fetish as an consumer object from place of origin, but rethinks through its political and economic issues his situation as souvenir-place.The 1st Phase of the Project Souvenir Identities was in Manchester (UK), the island continent, with connections via peripheral island – Tenerife.

The ‘Mancunian’ (is in fact not a Mancunian) and thus in many ways also almost a stranger to its own cultural peculiarities and customs. Setting about to communicate only half known facts to someone else from a different culture and with a hefty language barrier would be an experience. The internet is a gift in terms of real time communication across multiple platforms, information and even translation; but it is an imperfect gift, one full of mistakes, (which of course makes it all the more fun) which draws the very nature of language and communication into sharp focus.

Manchester is the spiritual capital of the North England, which in itself is almost an island, so obliterated as it is from sight in a world where London is synonymous with England. Though

culturally rich and boasting some stunning architecture, it still pales in comparison to the sunny island paradise it is pitched against in this project. Direct comparisons are not forthcoming, but paring the environment down to its very basics, the water is a consistent feature; and so too became three paper boats: being carefully folded in a student room in Tenerife, sinking in the canal in Manchester and finally flying on a plane between the two. A somewhat unlikely allusion to childhood, shipping, travel and imagination became a thoroughly romantic (but unexpected) souvenir.

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Identidades Souvenir

– Laura Gower – Francisco Torres – Laura Gower – Francisco Torres – Laura Gower – Francisco Torres – Laura Gower – Francisco Torres – Laura Gower –

Redes sociales – comunicación del siglo XXIIdentidades Souvenir – Converso por el lugar en el que se vive y en el que se camufla

Envíos e intercambios de ida y vueltaIdea romántica del envío de “x” desde una isla perdida a otra de tipo global

Reconstrucción a través de la mirada de un conversoDesde el exterior hacia una proyección y filtro en la intimidad. Vivencia y envío de

la caja – habitación – lugar de conexión - “reconstrucción de” – “proyección de” – “filtro del exterior”..

Partiendo de la masiva comunicación que proporciona las nuevas tecnologías en el siglo XXI a través de la red y de sus múltiples conexiones de grupos sociales de diversa índole, se focaliza un estudio antropológico de cómo, dos personas en con-textos diferentes pero al mismo tiempo unidas y conectadas por un programa de intercambio de ideas e información, intentan llevar a cabo el propósito de crear y desarrollar un proyecto en conjunto. De esta manera, se intenta romper con la individualidad del artista román-tico que enfoca su proyecto hacia sus propios intereses, para llevar esta nueva pro-puesta a un ámbito social y colectivo, donde lo que prevale es el flujo comunicativo entre la pareja formada, en este caso, uno de los diversos nodos que componen este ambicioso proyecto. Mancunianos y Tinerfeños sin serlo pero al mismo tiempo “conversos” por habitar y convivir en los puntos clave que marcan consecutivamente La Isla Conti-nente y La Isla periférica. De dónde van surgiendo conversaciones e intercambios de ida y vuelta con lo desconocido, de incógnitas, a preguntas, a simples inquie-tudes, a una ‘otra’ visión distinta de la comúnmente expresada por los habitantes autóctonos. El envío consecutivo de este tipo de cuestiones, sumado a la interpretación que cada sujeto genera a la hora de dar forma y formalización a los enunciados planteados, hace que se forme quizás, una atmósfera romántica comunicativa con el “Otro”. Pero que al mismo tiempo, este sujeto ‘B’, no es muy distinto del sujeto ‘A’, puesto que los dos se mueven en zonas a las que de una u otra manera han sido

desplazados y que por lo tanto los caracterizan conformándolos como una parte más del lugar en el que establecen la comunicación. La visión desde el punto de vista ‘Tinerfeño’, reconstruye la visión de una isla ubicada en el vasto desierto oceánico del mundo occidental. Una isla, que acusada de mera distracción y escapada para el ocio turístico por las más diversas menta-lidades quienes manejan su descripción, es al mismo tiempo, puente de conexión entre continentes.

Tenerife-isla periférica----------------continentes Europa-América-África

Esta especie de Triángulo de las Bermudas en el que se convierte Tenerife, lo sa-craliza como una importante zona política, económica y logística. Pero al mismo tiempo la belleza, el cambio de ritmo, de tiempo, de zona horaria, la tranquilidad de este lugar paradisiaco conforman la fuerza necesaria para desplazar este tipo de movimientos. Pero la atmósfera que envuelve esta zona turística inunda de una manera u otra la pequeña pero gran habitación del individuo, a través de un rayo de luz que rebota en la pared y crea proyecciones de ese mundo, del mismo modo que una cámara oscura nos permite obtener proyecciones de imágenes externas cuando las procesa. De este modo, se recoge al igual como si de un sueño se tratara, la realidad y la ficción – su proyección, su lado no real. Y en medio de esta fuga de directrices, el individuo, dejándose humedecer por el ir y venir inasible de las diversas formas de información que llegan hasta él. La isla dentro del puerto de envío, vía conexión en red con la isla global. En-vío definitivo del ‘paquete’ que conforma ‘La isla dentro de la isla’, el exterior ahora convertido en interior es a su vez un extraño souvenir. Finalizando en la premisa, “La caja” como paradigma de Tenerife.No se usa el fetiche como objeto de consumo del lugar de origen, sino que replantea a través de cuestiones políticas y económicas su situación como lugar-souvenir. La 1ª Fase del Proyecto Identidades Souvenir fue realizada en Manchester (Reino Unido), la isla continente, con conexiones vía isla periférica – Tenerife. El ‘Mancuniana’ (no es de hecho un mancuniana) y por lo tanto en muchos sentidos, también es casi desconoce muchas de sus propias peculiaridades y costumbres culturales. Estableciendo una comunicación sólo sabiendo a medias algunos aspectos de alguien con diferente cultura y con la que hay una gran barrera dada por el idioma, ciertamente puede ser toda una experiencia. El Internet es un regalo en términos de comunicación en tiempo real a través de múltiples platafor-mas, información e incluso de herramientas de traducción, pero este, es un regalo

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imperfecto, uno lleno de errores (que por supuesto hace que sea aún más diver-tido), pero sus precisamente esas dificultades la propia naturaleza del lenguaje y la comunicación. Manchester es la capital espiritual de la Inglaterra del Norte, que puede considerarse, en sí misma, es casi una isla, que permanece olvidada a los ojos de un mundo en el que Londres es sinónimo de Inglaterra. Aunque de gran riqueza cultural y con una arquitectura impresionante, parece palidecer en comparación con la soleada isla paradisíaca con la cual se conecta en este proyecto. Las compa-raciones pueden ser odiosas, pero, reduciendo ambos lugares a los elementos bási-cos, el agua es una característica constante, y así llegaron los tres barcos de papel: desde su localización primaria, cuidadosamente guardados en una habitación de estudiante en Tenerife, hasta aparecer naufragados un canal de Manchester, para finalmente acabar volando en avión entre ambas situaciones (para acabar en la exposición de Manchester). Una alusión un tanto improbable de la infancia, el transporte, los viajes y la imaginación se convirtieron en un romántico recuerdo (aunque inesperado), un suvenir.

AlexHi Ines!Hope you are well. I had a look at your website and I really like your work. Although we have very dif-ferent styles I think there is a certain quirkiness in our work which will pull our ideas together.So how shall we start things? From what I understand of the brief you’ll send me some images/writ-ings perhaps for me to react to and things snowball from there?

InésHi!Sorry for the delay but this satur-day ihave justa arrive to London to improve my english with a grant of my university.So this week I have been looking for academy, accommodation...It wasn’t easier...

But I didnt forget our work, so I have bring some images from one travel i have done two mounth ago to england wich we could start our work, but i have left in my resi-dence and now i am in the academy so far away from there. I write you because you Know I dind’t forget you... I will send you my images this afternoon. I dont have internet in my house, I will find an internet point for communi-cate us. I love your work too and I like that you like my work! I love Hank and the Bear, which material did you use? or did you make it on computer only? Well, I’ll contact you early with the images, I thought that we could make a blog because in my email I have a lot of things and it is difficult to me find you when i was looking something from the past.

Inés Peña y Alex Howes

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I will probably create the blog to upload the images. Are you agree or are you thinking about another way to communicate? Sorry for the delaylooking forward to hearing from you, bye!!!

AlexHi Ines,No worries, you sound really busy. Really cool that you’re in London to study English, I hope you have a great time. Perhaps that will influence how our exchange develops - looking at your experience of living in London? It sounds like you are thinking the same when you mention having images from your past visit to England? Thank you so much for saying you like my work. I am currently trying to start a career in illustration but it is a slow process and as I have only just started it will be a while before I can manage full time. I work mostly in paint with ink nowadays. I think you’re right that a blog will be easier to keep track and not confuse with other things. If you are happy to start it then let me know when you have created it. re-ally looking forward to seeing what you have and working from it. Do let me know if you need any help with anything and I totally understand that you have a lot on at the mo-ment - happy to wait for you to send things through when you have time.Speak soon!

InésHi!I dont have so much time, sorry ... I was thinking on you several times. If you can open the blog please...I dont have internet and for me it’s so complicated to do.I attach the images, I hope you feel confortable whith them... I will connect again this weekend with much time sorry I looking for whatever you want to say me....Good week! i could see all the things slowly this weekend

AlexHi Ines,No worries – i hope you’re settling in OK in London. I’m afraid I only have internet at work at the moment and so I won’t be able to set up a blog yet. If I do not have my laptop back by the weekend I’ll go to a library and set a blog up there. Do let me know if you manage to create one first though. The images are great though and for now I’ll start drawing in re-sponse to them. I think that’s how the next stage should work? Please let me know if you think otherwise!Speak soon,Alex x

InésHello,,, Ive just set up the blog!I have had to open a gmail account before so fast...., i note here all the things to Know:user: *****login: *****

blogs name http://alexhinesp.blogs-pot.co.uk/and i didnt design anything of the blog, is the simple template, if you want to change...may be when we have more time...ok see you!Try to enter in the blog and let’s start to have the discussion there...

AlexHey Ines!Well done on setting up the blog. I have got my computer back for a few days and so I have uploaded some paintings I’ve been working on over the weekend.Speak soon.Alex

------------------------------------Aquí abajo se detallan las conver-saciones, en fondo azul son las de Inés Peña, en verde las de Alex Howes y en rojo son las respuestas a las entradas de ambas.http://alexhinesp.blogspot.com.es/

Friday, 20 July 2012 InésFirst pictures

70 Inés Peña y Alex Howes 71Inés Peña y Alex Howes

Friday, 20 July 2012 InésSiguiente paso Hi! Its wonderful that you were drawing! I sent you this pictures to break the ice and because i didn’t have so much time to think about the project...I dont have so much time as well, but i have been thinking a long the week...Yes, it may talk about my vision of england but it might be other vi-sion... ...after you send your drawings we might decide a topic to research or perhaps it might be a emotion exchange betwen images producing by each. I’m a little worried too about the next step but i think that we have to relax and let’s just go with the flow. :)I dont Know if you can understand what i try to tell you...Ok So i looking forward to hearing from you...This is only the begining...salud! AlexHi Ines! I’ve got a computer for a few days so I posted these pictures in response to your images. I don;t think there’s any right or wrong so I think you’re absolutely right in that we should just go with the flow! Ines:)

Sunday, 22 July 2012 Alex

First drawings These images were inspired by the photographs Ines took. Although perhaps quite literal translations of her work, I hope as the project progresses I will loose my automatic ‘illustrator’ thought patterns and think with a more abstract ap-proach...

InésNice!! Before you put the drawings I was thinking about the two first, be-cause the sounds of the gulls never

leave me on those days, London, bar-celona, tenerife also...mmmm, let me think about this...This week I have been taking notes about words surprised me on the street. I’ll write here.I dont have my camera here but i have bought a old camera and Im tak-ing pictures but they are probably “strange” ‘couse the camera, I’ll see...Good work! AlexThanks Ines! Sounds interesting - I think a broken camera will create interesting images. I’ll wait for your post..!

Tuesday, 31 July 2012 Second post InésHi! Ooo ... this week I don’t have anything to upload, I was writing some words or sentences... but I haven’t got my laptop and in this computer I can not edit and save documents... I would have wanted to do some visual texts, do you understand?, draw with letters and words...One sentence that I have rescue from the street and I like so much, (but after i know the meaning I don’t have the same impression,) is

“Improving the image of construc-tion”

For me it’s like the moment we are now, improving the construction of image...well, don’t mind... I thought that it could be a title for

our project but We can not “put the cart before the horse.”(I’ve copied this sentence from Internet, in my language is something like that: to start the construction of the house with the roof)Before, we have to start with the ‘reason’ or the ‘meaning’ of our project, where the research begin...We have some tracks, (some seems so ridiculous but it can help to find the directions to start)...You are an illustrator and I am a visual artist... :) we start the project with pictures and drawingsYou have drawings from the air (birds and dreams)I have pictures from the sea or ephemeral places? (boats, train, hostel...)Your pictures seems happy and colored My pictures seems melancholic, poor ...?The islands are surrounded by the sea and the only way for arrive is from water and from air...We need to make the opposite things up, I dont know if i tell this well, I mean, need to find how to join the opposite.Fill in what you think on the list...Some thoughts... I was thinking to do a book with pictures and illustrations but I don’t Know what could we tell in the story. Maybe the trip of someone or we could check better the topic, about the relationship between the island and the sea... i don’t Know...or about our correspondence,

72 Inés Peña y Alex Howes 73Inés Peña y Alex Howes

like a visual postal...Well, Miriam suggested me that I can talk about UK and you show me the things about your country, but we can adjust the project as we like i think...Well, these are “the flies flying over my head”, the thoughts that i have been thinking about, not much but let me know what are you thinking, what do you want to do or what is your impression of that...The next week i will be in my home, and I will have so much time to research and to decide or do some-thing.Ah! I have broken the film which was in my ‘new’ old camera, now, i don’t have pictures from London... :(I will try to buy a new film but i didn’t have these images... The last day I’ve been in Tate Brit-ain and I saw a exhibition that give me some inspiration. It was about unseen scholar Robinson undertakes exploratory journeys around England mixed with contemporary works, and the intention was explain the origin of the crisis, i think. The display or the exhibition design it was ok. This is the linkhttp://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/patrick-keiller-robinson-instituteAlso I find this illustartor, maybe you know him, i like his work! Mar-cel Dzamaand this just for fun!http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SZt_d_4OV-Q&noredirect=1#!

Thursday, 2 August 2012 AlexHi Ines!It’s a shame we have both had prob-lems getting to a computer recently!Your post is very interesting - your words are very descriptive. It has given me lots of ideas about the theme of coming together through different approaches - whether by transport or thought processes. I really like the idea of a picture book telling a story surrounding this theme. A journey but not as straightforward as it seems. The idea of an island being the central goal.I shall work on some drawings at the weekend and hope I can post them by the end of next week...

Monday, 6 August 2012 InésReferences Hello, I have already arrived to Spain, home sweet home!Here some references that i found online. They can help us for have an idea of what is an artist book.I lay here only photobooks, if you find some illustration book that you think are important to know I will be grateful, i don’ t know much about contemporary drawings in books.I really like this bookvitamin D Phaidonbut it isn’ t an artist book, is a general contemporary drawings book.Look at this,http://www.haveanicebook.com/blog/Also I find this web

http://www.photomonitor.co.uk/here, in essays, i have read an interesting issue about travel, the first essay, about this artist;adam jeppesenAnd I want to emphasize thisArtist book; Ori GershtBesides references, I’ m reading this book “The songslines” of Bruce Chatwin. Is a travel book. Chatwin describes a trip to Australia which he has taken for the express purpose of researching Aboriginal song and its connections to nomadic travel.He want to write a book about no-madic and inside, it’ s possible to read some interesting notes he took for it.I try to write here but I’ m going to do the translation with google traductor...Our nature lies in movement, complete calm is death. (Pascal, Penseès)In The Descent of Man, Darwin noted that the migration of certain birds momentum is stronger than the mater-nal. The mother will abandon their young in the nest so as not to miss your appointment for the long flight southward.Travel, meaning “journey” in Eng-lish is a word identical to travail “physical or mental work,” “work,” especially painful and oppressive nature, “effort”, “hardship”, “suf-fering.” A “trip”There are more but I think for the moment its enought.Im looking forward to hearing from you, kiss!

Thursday, 9 August 2012

Alex

Below are some images of Eric Car-le’s contribution to the exhibition, but I can’t find details of the show to post from the internet...

InésI was thinking in my first memory... but it’ s so difficult.. I was think-ing when i was a child, my first memories are fuzzy, they were non-specific sites, a piece of a table, a wall...but feelings are so strong... i remember one time, my mum was holding me to up the stairs of my house, maybe I was 3 years old, i dont know, i was crying because I was a very tearful girl, and I threw my mum’ s glasses steps in... I ha-ven’ t forgotten that feeling.

74 Inés Peña y Alex Howes 75

Also i remember when I was learning to read in the primary school.We had a round table where some col-leges snot beat underneath and then turned. You could have the snot of your college on your site. When we were reading they used to do this, because it was a boring and compro-mised when you have to read...This thoughts away from the idea of the travel, they are more akin to the journey of memory, this is a huge issue, diferent, funny, in-teresting... but we should have to start or look how to conect with journey...Anyway we have 4 weeks for make something, and I’ve begun to feel the fear... i need a feedback, an answer...I’ m looking forward from hearing from you.

Wednesday, 15 August 2012 AlexHellooo,Well, I have been thinking about the book and may be is early to decide what will we do. I think is better continue producing images each week and decide how will formalization it later. It could be a book, it could be a installation or pinted images contrasted... I don't Know.This weekend I’ll post you a pic-ture, I haven’ t already taken.For the time being I’ve posted a video where illustration/animation and art are mixed... Wednesday, 15 August 2012 InésMy boyfriend has just eaten the tesco cake that i was saving for

photograph it this weekend. :(So I have to think another picture for the proyect... I will try to post something this weekend

Friday, 24 August 2012 Alexsome images These are pages from a child exercise book that I found in london in my suburb

Friday, 24 August 2012 InésMy lost Tesco Cake.... Seems an island

Friday, 24 August 2012 Inés“voyage a cymera” Theo Angelopoulos film: “voyage a cymera”

I wan to recomended this film because It’ s about a man exiled and the “travel” is treated with a different point of view.the dialogs of the film are se-cundary, It’ s a great visual poem.The end of the film has a poetic im-age but I haven’ t wanted upload because maybe you want to watch the whole film.Perhaps you will find some tips to draw.

Friday, 24 August 2012 InésI have been thinking about an anima-tion short film Perhaps we could do an animation.I have been thinking about the time that we spend in the transport to arrive somewhere.It could be a metaphor of our con-tinuos search without find nothing...Timeout that we spend to arrive to somewhere with expectation...The animation could be a foreground of the character wating in dif-ferents spaces...a lift, a tube, a waiting room, a plane, a bus, a train... and he never arrives to somewhere, always is on travel.

--------------------------------

Inés Peña:Aquí terminó nuestro intercambio, a pesar de que fue gratificante, no encontramos un punto en común para trabajar y decidimos para el proyecto. A partir de entonces comencé a trabajar con José Jurado estudiante español en Manchester.

La presentación en Manchester rec-ogió algunas ideas de las comentadas en el blog.

“Con esta serie intento reflexionar sobre el álbum de fotos de viajes. En los álbumes encontramos imágenes que conforman nuestra memoria, sue-len ser lugares comunes que visita-mos varios de nosotros y en los que nos retratamos junto con los seres queridos. Montamos la foto simulando lo bien que nos lo pasamos, lo fe-lices que estamos para que quede un registro de aquel momento.Las fotos que presento siguen en el album tradicional pero muestran imágenes vacías, con un aire nos-tálgico de aquel lugar ideal que estamos dispuestos a visitar. He querido registrar gráficamente aquel-los lugares de tránsito del viajero, lo que hay después de retratarse felizmente junto con el paisaje o monumento visitado.”

76 77Inés Peña y José Jurado

Inés Peña y José Jurado

José:Hola Inés! Se me ha ocurrido escribir alguillo comparando los panoramas artísticos de ambos lugares, son cosas que he estado prensado durante el tiempo que llevo estudiando y viviendo en Manchester, pensé que podría ser una buena forma de empezar nuestro intercambio, ya me contarás qué tal ;)

Precariedad y Art & Crafts

“When I had a studio, I was working very little [and] I didn’t know what to do with all that time. (…) There was nothing in the studio because I didn’t have much money for materials. So I was forced to examine myself and what I was doing there. I was drinking a lot of coffee, that’s what I was doing.“ Bruce Nauman

En España e Inglaterra lo que más diferencia los modos de hacer y trabajar para todos los artistas es el estudio. Sin estudio que el paso de madurez de todo artista cuando sale de la escuela de arte no se puede producir ya que el estudio es al mismo tiempo: lugar de producción, relaciones sociales (HUB) y da visibilidad a la obra (Open Studio). Dentro del estudio el artista puede mostrar su obra sin intermediarios en un cubo más o menos “blanco”. Esta pasión y necesidad obligada de tener estudio en

Inglaterra es algo utópico en España a no ser que vivas en un pueblo (nave taller) y también porque la especulación y gentrificación lo ha hecho imposible estos últi-mos años en las grandes ciudades. Los artistas ingleses están más enfocados en el objeto y en la producción comercial de obra tal vez influidos todavía por el art & crafts en cierto modo. Ellos son políticamente correctos y rara vez se ven obras que salgan de tono o de corte político y social como hacen por ejemplo colectivos como Democracia o Todo por la Praxis en España. Este año 2012 han sido los Juegos Olímpicos de Londres un gran escaparate internacional de visitantes a la gran metrópolis británica y las exposiciones que hemos podido ver a lo ancho y largo de todo el país han estado dedicadas en su mayoria a artistas británicos: Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Turner, Twombly, Jeremie Deller,… Este nacionalismo artístico según mis teorías de debe a la crisis y a que ellos no son tontos y si tienen la oportunidad de mostrar al mundo arte, el suyo siempre será lo primero y mejor. Todo el mundo sabe que la ropa de Primark es de calidad mediocre tirando a mala, discutiendo con una amiga inglesa sobre esto, ella decía que no de forma rotunda. Algo que ellos rara vez harán es tirar tierra encima de algo suyo cosas que nosotros hacemos sobre nuestros pro-ductos españolas con demasiada frecuencia. No sabemos vendernos y en eso ellos son unos máquinas de los cuales se puede aprender mucho. La crisis cultural llega a Manchester la ciudad donde he vivo de muchas formas, en el Cornerhouse este año una de las exposiciones ha sido la de una artista local que lleno la sala de exposiciones de instalaciones producidas in situ para ahorrar me-dios y costes. Los recortes culturales se vienen produciendo en Inglaterra desde los albores de la crisis allá por el 2008 y han sido bien fuertes. Los artistas en este país no cuentan con la red de becas y ayudas al arte contemporáneo que hemos tenido en España hasta hace nada y que ahora vemos menguar. En muchos premios ya el premio en sí es la propia exposición, esta decadencia y precariedad viene azotando a los jóvenes creadores en los dos países y es algo que nos iguala completamente. España tendrá muchas cosas en el terreno artístico pero al menos no hace-mos todavía pagar a los artistas por presentarse a los concursos (fees) algo típico y normal en Inglaterra, de esa forma el premio se recauda con el dinero de los artis-tas que participan llegando a veces a pagar hasta 25 libras o más por obra presen-tada. Esto hace que se acoten los premios a solo aquellos que se puedan permitir pagar esas cifras y que rara vez se puedan premiar proyectos ya que aquí siempre prevalece la obra, sobretodo la pintura, ante otras modalidades artísticas. Durante este año en Inglaterra he podido viajar por toda Inglaterra visitando diferentes centros de arte (Baltic, Tate, Ikon, Fact, Cornerhouse,…) la característica común entre todos ellos es que son más pequeños y adaptados a las necesidades

78 Inés Peña y José Jurado 79Inés Peña y José Jurado

del lugar. No se construyen en Inglaterra grandes artefactos culturales para dar de comer a los amigos de los políticos con sus construcción (empresas a dedo que se lo llevan calentito) y recalificación de terrenos como se hace en España. La anécdota más peculiar de los centros de arte ingleses es que todos son polivalentes y multifun-cionales adaptándose a una celebración de boda o evento de empresa por ejemplo, previo paso por caja, haciendo de esta forma rentable el espacio. Hay que copiar mu-cho de ellos en cuanto a gestión y actividades de estos centros de arte ya que si algo no falta y es primordial en todos ellos es el departamento de didáctica para la crea-ción de nuevos públicos y el de actividades familiares con una fuerte dedicación. Yo siempre estoy a favor del I+P, como hacen los chinos, Investigación y Plagio, si algo funciona y se hace bien… ¿por qué no copiarlo?. En vez de eso lo que vamos a copiar de ellos es un sistema público adelgazado con todos los servicios básicos privatizados (más y más recortes). Para copiar las cosas malas somos unos linces en España, lo mismo hemos hecho con la arquitectura copiando modelos de casas y chalets adosa-dos que son más propios de otros países y climas para homogeneizar todo el país. ¿Y las galerías? Las galerías comerciales de arte contemporáneo solo están en Londres y muchos artistas venden obra sin necesidad de ellas haciendo uso de otras vías como los Open Studio o representantes con una cartera de coleccionistas. Las galerías solo son útiles en las ferias de arte pero un artista hoy día puede ven-der su obra sin ellas, sobre todo si la obra es buena claro. El sistema inglés con sus fallos tiene algunas cosas mejores que el español pero lo bueno sería una mezcla de los dos modelos. Vienen tiempos donde se an-tepone colaborar, cooperar y hacer rentables todos los espacios posibles ya sea en una ciudad o pueblo. Para finalizar una frase que me dijo un buen amigo acerca del mundo del arte: “esto es como una carrera de fondo donde los que llegan a la meta no son necesariamente los mejores sino los más resistentes”.

Inés: Resulta interesante, ciertamente es una carrera de fondo, últimamente he estado pensando mucho sobre este tema ahora que en España se ha reduciendo el dinero de cultura y educación, creo que quizás sería bueno que pudiéramos hablar por skype un día y viéramos que podemos hacer.

Esta es una de los chats rescatados durante una llamada por skype: 20:29 Inés ¡Hola jojurgom! Me gustaría añadirte a Skype. Ines 20:32 Inés*** Llamada a Jose Jurado *** 20:32 Joséhas visto que ardillaca 20:34 Joséwww.anarosahopkins.com 20:36 Joséwww.ruralc.com 20:36 Josérural contemporanea 20:36 Josécampo adentro 20:39 Joséefti 20:39 Joséiniciarte 20:39 JoséMA Fine Art 20:42 JoséPhD 20:42 Joséby practice 20:43 José www.campecho.wordpress.com 20:43 Joséwww.puertasecat.blogspot.com 20:44 Joséwww.josejurado.com 20:44 JoséVillacañas 20:45 JoséECAT 20:45 JoséFernando Sanchez Castillo 20:47 JoséManu Arregui 20:47 José

Aitor Saraiba José 20:48 Joséhttp://www.lefthandrotation.com/museodesplazados/ficha_jurado.htm 20:49 Joséese fue mi primer proyecto en Bar-celona 20:50 Joséla ciudad del circo 20:51 Joséecobulevar

*** Llamada finalizada. Duración: 24:23 ***

20:56 Joséesto va fatal 20:56 Inésmi cnexion es una mierda ys te dije... a ver.. 20:58 Inésm? yo no soy 20:59 Inéso si 20:59 Inésjoder 21:00 Joséhttp://www.museoreinasofia.es/exposi-ciones/2012/haacke.html 21:00 Josési eres tu 21:00 Josése va 21:00 Joséesa expo muy buena 21:00 Joséde Hans Haacke en Madrid en el reina 21:03 Inésestaba vi´ndola 21:03 Inéstiene buena pinta 21:03 Inésme lo leeré con clama

80 Inés Peña y José Jurado 81Inés Peña y José Jurado

21:03 Josétengo muchos álbumes con fotos de los sitios que he visto en mi face-book 21:03 Inés

*** La llamada a Jose Jurado no ha sido respondida. ***

21:03 Inésmerda 21:03 Joséde Madrid, Kassel, Londres, 21:03 Inésno funciona 21:04 Josépuedes ver lo que se esta haciendo fuera din salir del ordenador 21:04 Joséme gusta el montaje y ver las obras in situ 21:04 Inés claro no tiene nada que ver

*** Llamada de Jose Jurado ***

21:04 Josési me oyes 21:05 Inéssi 21:05 Josése entrecorta la llamada 21:05 Inésproblema de conexion 21:05 Joséimposible no la tienda sino la lla-mada 21:05 Inéssoy yo

*** Llamada finalizada. Duración: 00:42 ***

21:05 Inéses pirata y no rula 21:05 Inésde vez en cuando 21:05 Josése oye fatal hay un problema en el micro no se 21:08 Inésjoer salgo conectada pero se ha quedao pillao esto...

*** Llamada a Jose Jurado ***

21:16 Inésahora eres tú 21:16 Joséahora creo que soy yo 21:16 Joséno se 21:16 Joséestoy mosca 21:21 JoséLand Escape 21:24 Joséwww.culturapoligonera.blogspot.com 21:27 Joséhttp://www.paraisosocultos.com/tu-otro-banco/1413 21:29 JoséLA COOPERATIVA trabensol.org www.trabensol.org http://sociedad.elpais.com/sociedad/2012/08/31/actuali-dad/1346434350_696600.html 21:32 JoséEn Torremocha del Jarama (Madrid) faltan solo unos meses para que Antonio Zugasti, de 79 años, y el resto de socios de la cooperativa Trabensol —todos pensionistas— se muden a su nuevo hogar: un centro de convivencia para mayores confor-

mado por 54 apartamentos adaptados. Solo les falta poner los remates, la fontanería y la carpintería del complejo que este grupo de amigos y vecinos de dos barrios de Madrid llevaban tanto tiempo ideando. Un centro basado en la sostenibilidad, la actividad y la solidaridad. “La cooperación es mucho mejor para resolver los problemas que la com-petencia”, apunta Zugasti, técnico de mantenimiento aeronáutico jubi-lado. Los socios de Trabensol afirman que su idea no era sustituir los servicios que debe proveer el Estado de bienestar. “Debe seguir propor-cionándolos, pero estos servicios están muy burocratizados. La nuestra es una forma de tomar las riendas y atender de manera directa nuestras necesidades”, dice Zugasti. Cree que su idea podría servir —eso sí, con más apoyo institucional— como ejem-plo para cubrir otras necesidades desatendidas, con más participación ciudadana. 21:32 JoséAtenas 21:33 Joséjojurgom@gmail.com 21:34 Joséwww.ruralc.com 21:34 Josébona nit

82 Inés Peña y José Jurado 83

Uno de los proyectos iniciados que no tuvieron desarrollo alguno fue la primera propuesta de recolección de imágenes de las pintadas de los baños de diferentes universidades de nuestra residencia. En el caso de José era en Manchester, en mi caso Barcelona. Estas fueron las imágenes tomadas en Barcelona en las facultades de Bellas Artes, Geología y Física.

WC BARCELONA UNI / WC MANCHESTER UNI

Barcelona:

Manchester:

Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

84 Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie 85Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

Oscar: Inside mine, I wrote

some notes about what could

happen if you are traveling

for a long journey far from

your usual environment.

In that point became very

important Time, something

that I don’t really know what

It is, but I can hold it into my

watch.

This is the first object that appears

a my journey, sometimes is not

really important because of the

new medias. My smartphone stores

a little bith more information than

this book, this photo was made

with my phone also and an applica-

tion to share it, but here you can

sketch, write ideas and linked them

to other stuff sticked into, and of

course… you can touch it.

11 de Julio de 2012 13:05 JonathonHello Oscar,Nice to (virtually) meet you! Im looking forward to starting work to-gether.How is your english? My spanish is unfortunately non existant.J.Beattie

23:24 Oscarhahaha, I’m not bad in english and I want to improove it, so let’s start working! Unfortunatelly I’m so busy since Saturday because we have an exhibition on Friday. So I’ll start with this project on weekend. Ah, pleased to meet you too!!

23 de Julio de 2012 23:46 OscarHi dude! ok, as Miriam said and as I could see on your website, you are living also in Berlin, rigth? I’ll be there in Berlin from August 5th to August 26th. It could be great to meet us there, we could talk a long about what we want to do or just have a few impressions about us or maybe about what happens when you mix two different realities. Ok I’m just rambleling but lately I’m interested in the way that we can meet people, relations and how to create a net. I don’t know how to explain myself but I think that we could use our situa-tion as a working method. Please when I work in group i like to speak a lot and discuss about every point of view to ensure that we are all working 100% on the same way, so if you dont understand me or just dont like it, tell me. See you!

PS: I’m also interested in self-publishing and how to use desing to make easier to understand art, also interested in music. I played the guitar for several years and lately I like to jam over electronic bases. I’ve seen many interesting things related on your site

24 de Julio de 2012 18:55 JonathonHey!Yeah unfortunately im saving up back in the UK to move to Berlin perma-nently ( also learning german right now). But have an amazing time on your erazmus, I wish I had done the same at uni.Cool man, yeah I make a bit of music. It would be nice to incorporate some sound into whatever we do.I think the best thing would be to use skype every week and chat to each other about what we are doing etcLet me know when your next free and we can skype and form a starting point.Cool man what did you like??

20:22 Oscarha ha ha. Im also learning german and i have an exam tomorrow. OK, I agree in using skype, maybe we could talk on Friday or weekend, I’ll have finished the german’s intensive course on thursday. Think also about an easy way to share things, but more in the line of a conceptual map, trumblr maybe? what do you think?

24 de Julio de 2012 23:52 JonathonYeah that sounds cool.

Algunos gráficos desarrollados

en los primeros días de viaje.

Reflexión sobre las condiciones

y cambios en el ambiente y por

ende, en el sujeto. Posibilidades

de cambio.

86 Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie 87Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

Obviously I dont know how you work. I like to get stuck in and do random things to find inspiration around a certain topic. 00:01 Oscarok, I think we have to relax and focus on knowing each other , just as a random exercise, like putting what we are doing now or what we are interested in lately. You know, the project is suposed to be about break-ing the isolation we have living in an Island, so simplifying... that means to meet people, for example you and me. We are our potential master-piece, hahahah.

88 Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie 89Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

00:15 Oscarmaybe I have to pick me a photo in the places you frequent in Berlin and then you do the same in a simi-lar position when you get there, we try to meet us but we cant, the place is the correct one but not the time, the clash of thoose images could be interesting. what do you think?

16 de agosto de 2012 14:25 OscarHey I m doing some things with those Photoautomat, they are great! Have you there Photoautomat in Manches-ter?? Could you send me one o try to imitate it and send me by email, i will try to printed here and do some photographs. I will try to upload some examples on trumblr. 14:54 Jonathoncool i dont know what that is but i will find out 14:56 Oscarim taking one photoautomat picture per day, but yesterday i started taking pictures also of the strip of 4 photos in the place, soy i think you will be able to join. I dont know how to explain it

28 de septiembre de 2012 10:04 OscarOK check the things I’ve posted in the blog. I have the posibility to travel to Manchester few days before the exhibition. I was wondering if I can stay at your home, but theres not a problem because I’ve there a friend doing erasmus semester. So the idea is to build in thoose days some kind of photo-souvenir studio

in the free for arts space. I’ve talked to Miriam, she likes the idea but we have to work on it more, we should have an special presentation and interview of the organisation, but we have to confirm Miriam that we are going to do it before Sunday evening. Maybe a conference tonight? but ill be on a friends house in Berlin so I need to know which time to take his computer.

29 de septiembre de 2012 10:35 OscarHey man where are u? Did you see the post? We have to answer miriam 13:28 JonathonYo sorry ive been working like a madman, our stall at Manchester con-temporary wasnt built so I had to do it, and then we got a leak through the roof at our gallery. Its been mental, Im around to skype tonight

I started taking a photo almost everyday

and putting them on the wall toguether,

like in the photoautomat website are

posted. Sometimes some pics interacs

with the others beside. Of course some

of them are just funny pictures, but

sometimes there’s something else, It’s you

changing every day but allways in a box,

there’s no reference to time and space,

just you, or your representation

90 Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie 91Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

or tommorw. Im still in work today though im afraid.Ill look into your post etc and we can chat on skype. when is good for you. tonight or tommorw and what time?Yeah man you can stay if you want to! (although its my parents a lit-tle outsude the city its nice and peacefull and just a trrain ride away).J 14:06 OscarOk look at the stuff on the post and dont worry, I know you must work. The important thing is to decide if we are going to do something special and in wich dates I have to buy my tickets. Then we have to inform miriam before tomorrow evening. So i ll be connecte via mobile and I will be dinning at a friends house, just send me a message on facebook and i will try to connect on skype. Good luck! See ya 15:24 JonathonRight im not sure what you mean. You want to get photos from the automat of others and create a big selection of thumbnails on the wall? 15:28 OscarNot selection. everyone can put his photo.but we are the photoautomat. A camera. Flash and printer. 15:42 JonathonIm not sure man, I get the idea it works well with the souvenir and journey themes but I dont think that it would be particularly strong visually. I think we can do better, it seems a little easy to me. Its like when you go on holiday do you allways want to do the touristy

stuff, looking at the same stuff with a different skin every time? I dont I want to see what the real character of a place is and go to the places where tourists dont usu-ally step.....Like I said its a bit too obvious for me and I think we can better.What are your thoughts? 15:42 Jonathondo better* 15:55 OscarOh man but did you see the photos i posted?. In a photoautomat is not a touristic place is just you inside a box. Maybe i ca upload moreOf course I Want to do better that is to continue thinking in the idea 15:59 JonathonYeah i saw them and i like the ef-fect of lots together but, it just doesnt feel very strong, or serious and it doesnt ahve to be but it also has to kind of reflect some sort of work ethic in that I dont want it to look cheep. Do you get what im saying?

Souvenir.

The most popular photomachine in

Berlin, If you don’t have a photo in

one of them, you were not in Berlin.

16:01 OscarNot really. I dont understand 16:02 JonathonI think putting auto mat images on the wall, even if there are 500 of them, will not be a very interesting exhibition. Even if they do travel and the idea fitts I dont see it as a engaging piece of work 16:06 OscarOk thats because it should not be the important piece. Just the cool stuff for the people. What else do you want to do? “15/04/2013 The im-portant piece is the photobooth!!!” 16:08 JonathonYeah its not the final work but i still want to produce something im vaugely proud of. 16:14 Jonathonwhat about a visual diary of a jour-ney? One that talks to each other symbolically about where we have come from to this point. It could

be a real journey symbolising a metaphorical one, who we are, or a literall one to show where we have been. Either way it would show a transition of information to each other hence the communication and that would also talk to the audi-ence. Its a good half way point to the project which would set the scene for something to build upon later.We dont have to stick to photogra-phy, anyhting that is symbolic or otherwise about the journies each of us have been on to get to today. They could sit side by side or in-tertwined.

Reflexiones sobre el espacio-tiempo inher-

ente a cada sistema fotográfico posible

Jony: My neighbor lit a fire in his garden, hes

had about four this week alone. I think he is

some sort of pyromaniac and its driving my

dad insane!

The Journey of the smoke is beautiful, and

before that. The carbon trapped in the wood,

grew from a seed from another tree etc etc

until we get back to the creation of the parti-

cles from a star. We can even go further back

than that probably infinitely………

92 Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie 93Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

16:21 OscarDo you have material to do that? 16:26 Jonathonwell I have an idea for a journey that i can illustrate literally which has taken place over the last few years.I think coupling that with old pho-tograhps / fragments of the past. Old photos, imagery anything qwuotes etcthis would also act as an exchange between each other, as part of the exchange and getting to know one another and to realize the next part of the workwas denkst du? 16:37 OscarOh Im not sure. The memory and all that stuff is very old and untrendy. I m going ro use my berlin material but i dont like the idea of using old photographsEvery time a student do that kind of work whith old stuff the teach-ers get bored. So you have to be cqrefull 16:40 JonathonOk its not cool but it illustrates a journey.I dont have to use that I can just create the literal journey but i dont want it to be too dryhence a mix, but ive literally just pulled tht out of hat i need to think through the idea 16:43 OscarOk but that is just continue talking and watching material. First we have to decide if we are taking photos to the public and tell Miriam. 16:45 Jonathonwell what do you think?

16:51 OscarI what to do it. Its not the first time That someone does something similar. Quality portraits to the people who visit an open studio,ect. I know that it works, of course we have to work a lot theese days developing the idea, but it could work.And combine it with our more serious project 16:53 JonathonIt has been done before or not? 16:56 OscarNot in the same way. There was a

Experimentamos con fotocopiado-

ras. La imagen automáticamente

se envía a una dirección de email.

Podemos enviar nuestra imagen.

¿Viaje espacio-temporal?

Fotografía a través de fotocopia-

dora Minolta. Video en HD.

http://vimeo.com/53467447#

project of some students taking photos to the people who visit the atelier. But the photos where of full body and the dont develop them in the place. And the stand looked more like a photography estudio. We dont have to do that 16:57 JonathonWas that the huge format camera? I think I went therI think it could work really well or really badly.We have to work out what camera to use, background, printer paper etc. It will be very expensiveIts not easy to take a great por-trait so doing a load in one go is not ggoing to be easy 17:02 OscarThink it calm. Maybe just an inkjet whith photopaper and use a custom layer to seem like a photoautomat print. I dont know just see what is in the market and choose. Ok i have to go now. Think it calm and tell me something tomorrow morning. Can you? 17:02 Jonathonyeah coolspeak soon.does it have to be automat style?we could make up our own style 17:04 OscarBut remember : we can do it! And... Miriam is expecting. Talk to her! Maybe she likes the idea and sup-ports you 17:04 Jonathonok i will hjave a think etc.....................peace out 17:05 OscarYes of coursw it s our journey. Our idea of photo journey

Ok. Tschuss 17:05 Jonathonciao

30 de septiembre de 2012 18:10 JonathonYo,Ok we can go ahead with the idea. BUt its going to be very expensive. We will need a printer that is of photographic quality, extra toner. Camera, Lighting, backdrop etc 18:15 OscarDont worry we have 19 DAYS 18:16 JonathonHow much money can we use from the fund do you know? 18:21 Jonathon? 18:26

-----------------15/04/2013: Teníamos la pieza desde el principio, hay que tener más de-terminación cuando uno está seguro de que es una buena idea para re-solver una pieza.-----------------

1 de octubre de 2012 19:20 OscarHey dude! I’ve my tickets to Man-chester, they are a little bith more expensive than the last time I search in the internet but... (next time I’ll buy it directly without thinkinng that much) So I’ll be there from 16.10 to 22.10. I can send you the exact time. I was thinking that maybe its not too late to try sending an email or visiting a canon shop there and ask if they can lend us a printer for the exhi-

94 Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie 95Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

bition, it’s some kind of promotion for them, or just see how much is a compact one. We have to decide how they have to look like.

3 de octubre de 2012 10:52 OscarHow is it going? we don’t talk since a lot of time. I’m working selecting and preparing the material that Im going to bring about the journey, Ill put some in the blog as soon as I can. Do you have material about the journey yo told me? And how about the self maid Photoautomat? We need to decide how we want to look like, when can we talk about? Good luck!

19:26 JonathonI thought we were going with the automat idea?I have a camera we can use, can-non 5D. Im in the process of finding lighting, printer, computer etc.Yeah lets have a chat, tommorow night when i finnish work?Skpe is best for me. 19:31 OscarOh yes of course! I was scared not having news from you! Ok Im happy to know you are looking for what we need. Lets talk more abour it tomor-row

14 de octubre de 2012 14:16 Jonathon

96 97Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

Hey man,I dotn think doing this automat is going to work in the space.We dont have a huge area, and I have loads to do next week, Ive been working all of this week too.I think we should just prepare what we spoke about and exhibit that. 14:21 OscarSure?Lets see how it goesMaybe just put all the stuff and at rhe end see if we ca do it very simple. Maybe just the camera and do some portraits. Dont worry we’ll see it there

27 de octubre de 2012 14:56 OscarHey man, how do you do? Here is snowing! 16:30 JonathonWHAT in tenerife???!! Its a bit cold here but no snow wow 16:34 Oscarjajjaj no in Dresden!! 16:35 Jonathonhahaok 16:41 OscarI allready talked with my professor, he likes this idea of time space, of course I told him that I was more interested in the jorney and he said that I have to think about something more complex 16:41 Jonathonlol 16:42 Oscaryes he said that I do some things really interesting but at the moment I have the same souvenir photos that coukd do anyone

16:44 Jonathonyeah 16:45 OscarAnd he told me that the fact is that inside the photobox there’s no space-time, its an isolated box, and that point is interestingso now I can use in some way this no space- time inside or try to intro-

Siguiendo los consejos

de Bosslet, la investi-

gación comienza a dar

sus frutos descartando

las típicas imágenes

y quedándonos con

las que intuimos que

esconden algo más. Así

es como comienza a

introducirse una reflex-

ión sobre la identidad.

Space-time traveller

animated gif

http://25.media.tumblr.

com/tumblr_mdp1w0vs-

cY1rjcijvo1_400.gif

98 Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie 99Oscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

duce it in the photo, putting inside with me some references of where I am. I was thinking in using a mirror inside and try to make a photo of the landscape outside the machine. 16:49 Jonathonor use the relection of the mirror facing in on itself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Creating an endless loop 16:50 OscarwowoowowfuckIt’s like a time-machinehahaha

21 de enero 10:37 OscarHey man, HOw are you doing? I need to ask you something: Do you keep the photos we use in the exhibition in Mchtr? Could you scan for me the Photoautomat strip and send me by email. I need it in high resolution, almost 600dpi .tiff and whitout cut-ting the black edges. THanks a lot! 13:37 JonathonYeah sure mate. Listen ive spoken to Miriam and Ive decided not to go ahead with the project.Im going to move to germany sometime soon after march time. Im just not going to have the time to work on the project.Im sorry to let you down like this and I hope you carry on the project.I hope we still keep in contact though and id love it if we met up in Berlin...... 14:05 OscarJa man, dont worry. Take care and just tell me if you are in Germany or Tenerif, maybe we can just have a beer! 18:50 Jonathonsounds good man ciao

Investigando con los espejos para introducir

el paisaje en el photomaton.

Descubrimos un referente:

Gabriel Litwin

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabriel_litwin/

sets/72157600143309986/

Free for arts results

Finalmente y tras llegar a un punto medio con mi compañero respecto a sus objeti-vos y los míos optamos por cruzar sus ideas sobre el Campo Unificado usando una gráfica científica a modo de “timeline” donde se colgaban fotos sobre los experi-mentos realizados por ambos.Personalmente quedé contento con el resultado estético, pero no tanto conceptual, pues finalmente descubriría que mis intereses giraban más entorno al viaje y a la identidad del sujeto, o experiencia psicogeográfica y el souvenir.

**Iba a poner un montón de imágenes de Manchester, pero creo que Francisko Torres tiene un buen álbum en Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.366395043446510.88553.100002280527566&type=1

Yo casi… que me quedo con este recuerdo:

100

Fase I.

101

102 103

Marina Torres e Alejandro GoparMarina Torres a Alejadro Gopar

104 105

Alex HoweJosé Jurado Inés Peña

106 107

Alejandro Gopar a Marina TorresOscar HR y Jonathon Beattie

108 109

Laura GowerFrancisco Torres a Laura Gower

110 111

113

Fase II.

Alejandro GoparFrancisco TorresInés Peña Laura GowerOscar HRSamuel Hunter

Francisco Torres

112

114 115

quería aportar cualquier elemento, pudiera acceder a ellos fácilmente, y el debate pudiera continuar en la red una vez finalizada la videoconferencia. De la misma manera, estas reuniones serían grabadas y colgadas en internet, por si fuera necesaria su revisión por alguno de los integrantes, o simple-mente, por si alguien no podía reunirse y las quería escuchar.

En la segunda fase, puesto que la propuesta era distinta y siempre dependía de la disponibilidad de los artistas para participar, de los participantes en la primera fase decidieron continuar Laura Gower, Alejandro Gopar, Oscar HR, Francisco Torres, Inés Torres, y se incorporó Samuel Hunter.

En esta fase, el idioma jugó un papel crucial porque, al tener que expresarse verbalmente en tiempo real, ya no se contaba con la ventaja que, para la expresión escrita, ofrece tener más tiempo para pensar, traducir o buscar una palabra en un diccionario. Pero en cambio, la comunicación pasó a ser más directa y dinámica, aunque más trabajosa y lenta.

Fase II.“A distributed negotiation of knowledge can allow a community of people to legitimize the work they are doing among themselves and for each member of the Group” Dave Cormier, Extraído de MasterDiWO

Después de la experiencia de la primera fase, se mantuvo la idea de realizar reuniones grupales, donde cada uno expu-siera su trabajo y se analizara la obra en colectividad. Estas reuniones, serían similares a las que se hacen habitualmente en las aulas de Proyectos Transdisciplinares en la Facultad de Bellas Artes de la Universidad de La Laguna en Tenerife. Esta idea fue sugerida por Oscar HR que, tras la primera fase, lamentaba haber compartido profundamente elementos con solo otro artista. Por ello, se decidió que el intercambio se basara en reuniones grupales a través Skype, de manera que el intercambio pasó de bilateral a multilateral.

Estas reuniones pretendían ser un espacio donde se asumiera, no solo un compromiso con el trabajo personal de cada participante, sino también con el de los demás. Aportando elementos que pudieran ser de interés, prestando nuestra co-laboración o interactuando de algún modo con la obra de los demás. Dichas reuniones se realizaban cada quince días y, en cada una de ellas, uno de los artistas presentaba lo que estaba realizando, y los demás trataban de aportarle una reflexión o elementos que le pudieran servir, le prestarse ayuda o colaborar en su proceso. El procedimiento consistía en ir su-giriendo y participando de manera activa en la configuración del intercambio durante todo el proceso y de esta manera, ir adaptándolo a nosotros. Todo el material de intercambio se compartiría vía Dropbox con el grupo, de forma que si alguien

116 117

Alejandro Gopar

Durante la primera fase del proyecto, la conversación con Mariana Torres se centro en la desmantelación del título del proyecto. Buscábamos un punto de vista arduo, lo bastante impreciso como para no formar parte del juego de fabricar el souvenir del souvenir, add-less.

30 de agosto de 2012 12:15its just the word less ... ive ben thinking on how artists have this ambition to create and “add” information to the world, but is it necessary? most of the time i feel that we just create for no purpose at all - we know we want to create so we do,i guess its instinct, but right now im trying to make work without doing much at all...

El proyecto que había sido inicialmente una propuesta de intercambio cultural entre dos miradas del arte distantes, devino a un proyecto colectivo de investiga-ción cultural que desde entonces se ha centrado en una propuesta existencialista entorno al arte, los souvenirs y lo que ambos dicen de nosotros. Al volver a analizar el termino less encontré una ambigüedad muy repre-sentativa de lo que buscábamos. Por un lado una reducción a la esencia de la idea souvenir, que refleja el mecanismo cultural que transforma la realidad en repre-sentación. Y al mismo tiempo pretendía no hacer mucho, o más bien no dar mucha forma, lo simple. Pero fué en el modo pensar y hacer donde representamos mejor una parte importante de nuestra mirada, dejamos de lado el Made in para centrar-nos en el Make: “El souvenir fabricado al por mayor presenta un mecanismo bastante simple y, al mismo tiempo, de una eficacia aplastante: reducir la complejidad de un lugar (país, ciudad, entorno natural, pueblo o complejo arquitectónico) a iconos fácilmente identificables. El turista

Stage II

“A distributed negotiation of knowledge can allow a community of people to legitimize the work they are doing among themselves and for each member of the Group.”Dave Cormier, extract from MasterDiWO

After the first stage, it was decided to con-tinue the group meetings, where each artist could showcase their work and the other par-ticipants would analyse the artwork together. These meetings were in the vein of those held in the Transdisciplinary Project classrooms at La Laguna University’s Fine Arts School in Tenerife. The idea was suggested by Oscar HR, who regretted having only shared ele-ments with one other artist during the first stage. Consequently, it was decided to base the exchange on group meetings using Skype, and the exchange went from being bilateral to multilateral.

The meetings required a commitment not only to one’s own work, but also to the work of all the others. Participants were expected to contribute elements that were of interest, cooperating or interacting in some other way with the artworks presented by other artists. The meetings were held every two weeks, and artists would present what they were working on and the others would reflect upon their work or make contributions that could help the process. The work method involved suggesting and participating actively in the exchange throughout the process with a view to

adapting it to our needs. All the exchanged material was shared via Dropbox with the whole group. This meant that everybody could easily access all the elements and the discussion could continue online after the videoconference. In addition the meetings were recorded and uploaded online so they could be watched again or to allow people to listen to them if they had been unable to attend the meeting. Given the nature of the second stage, which depended on the availability of the artists, Laura Gower, Alejandro Gopar, Oscar HR, Francisco Torres and Inés Torres contin-ued from the first stage, and Samuel Hunter joined the project. Language played a crucial role during this stage, as participants were required to communicate in real time, without the advantage of being able to think, translate or look up a word in a dictionary. Nevertheless, this made communication more direct and dynamic, although it was also slower and harder work.

118 Alejandro Gopar 119Alejandro Gopar

“…los souvenirs son, si cabe, más interesantes como materialización de la naturaleza y subjetividad del turista. Por un lado, constituyen metonimias de pasados y lugares distantes y, por otro, metáforas de narrativas personales y colectivas de viaje y apropiación cultural. Se incrustan de pleno en los procesos de formación de las identidades sociales y culturales, involucrados en nuestras memorias de lugares, gentes y cosas, y adquiriendo diferentes “regí-menes de valor” en función de sus poseedores. ” Fernando Estévez González

Simultáneamente esos objetos banales producidos en masas, fundamentan su eficacia en la reducción de la complejidad (ciudades, costumbres, paisajes…) simplificándola hasta mostrar un icono fácilmente reconocible. Los souvenirs no esconden segundas lecturas, tan solo tópicos triviales sustentados en el vacío de las mentes de los turistas. Este efecto podría entenderse hoy como un reflejo artístico de la era del fin de la cultura, una forma en miniatura tan solo reconocible super-ficialmente, y repetida una y otra vez haciendo insistencia en su forma definitoria vacía de contenido. Se da entonces otra metonimia, la de la muerte por el muerto, la forma queda pero no hay propósito de ser más allá del cadáver, somos porque estamos y en hacer eco de nuestra existencia reside nuestra identidad.

dispone de poco tiempo para sus compras y, por lo tanto, no puede ni quiere perder tiempo en segundas lecturas, en descubrir aspectos inéditos.” Oscar Guayabero

Entre las fotos del proceso de montaje de la primera exposición encontré una serie de fotos en las que Mariana aparece lijando la pared para conseguir un extracto de la sala, un modo de dar forma sin añadir. Recogimos restos de pintura que por accidente no permanecieron expuestos dejando casi invisible el trabajo realizado. De esta acción surge la forma que define mejor las conclusiones del dialogo y desa-rrollo del proyecto. El diseño de la muestra recogerá todo modo de proceder hasta la fecha, desde el inicio de las conversaciones con Mariana hasta las conclusiones individuales. Se trata de una instalación con un planteamiento muy poco objetual, a modo de mapa conceptual encriptado. En el aparecen conversaciones, formas de actuación, el planteamiento desde el blog compartido… Como si se tratase de la tapa de una maleta de viaje repleta de imágenes y recuerdos de su recorrido, que a su vez habla de si misma.

Identidades Souvenir

El proyecto escéptico en que el arte se asentó, devino en lo que Brea denomina “era póstuma de la cultura”. Hablar de cultura hoy es una manera más de existen-cializar, reflexionar la muerte y entretenernos en proporcionar sentido a nuestra existencia ¿ser o no ser… a pesar de la cultura? Vivimos interpretando el mundo a través de símbolos, convirtiendo cada gesto y pensamiento en una abstracción, dando forma a una estructura simbólica que nos sirve para dar explicación a nuestra existencia. Nuestro todo esta abarcado por eso que llamamos cultura, y en sus diferentes fenómenos nos fundamentamos para dar definición a lo que nos identifica. Seamos claros, es propio de los seres humanos tener una identidad, una condición que nos diferencia del resto de la especie y que nos hace fantasear con el ideal romántico de que somos únicos. Pero la palabra identidad muestra una dualidad. Su etimología proviene de ídem (lo mismo, sin diferencia). No obstante referencia a una característica que nos hace percibir a una persona como una, sola y distinta de las demás. En resumen: sin diferencia, aunque desiguales. Existe otro fenómeno que refleja este contrasentido, el souvenir. Los recuer-dos que sugieren son versiones del original, una interpretación intrínseca de una realidad reproducida en serie. Esta condición otorga al souvenir una capacidad excitante y a la vez aterradora: redibujar los recuerdos, estandarizarlos:

120 Alejandro Gopar 121Alejandro Gopar

encrypted conceptual map. Conversations appear, forms of action and the approach from the shared blog appear ... As if it were the top of a suitcase full of pictures and memories of her tour, but that at the same time speaks of herself.

Souvenir Identities

The sceptical project on which art is based, evolved into what Brea calls the “posthumous era of culture.” 1 At present, culture provides us with another way to existentialize, to reflect upon death and entertain ourselves by giving our existence meaning. To be or not to be… despite culture? We interpret the world through symbols, turning each gesture and thought into an abstraction, creating a symbolic structure that can be used to explain our existence. Our eve-rything is monopolized by what we call culture, and we resort to the different phenomena to define what identifies us. Let’s be clear, human beings inherently aspire to an identity, a condi-tion that sets us apart from the rest of the species, leading us to fantasise about the romantic ideal of being unique. However, the word identity reveals a duality. The etymology of the term comes from idem (the same, no difference). Nevertheless, it refers to a characteristic that makes us perceive a person as an individual, alone and different from the rest. In a nutshell: no difference, although different.

Another phenomenon also reflects that contradiction: the souvenir:“…souvenirs are more interesting as the materialization of nature and the subjectivity of the tourist. On the one hand, they are metonyms of the past and distant locations and, on the other, they are metaphors of personal and collective narratives of travel and cultural appropria-tion. They are embedded in the processes of forming social and cultural identities, involved in our memories of places, people and things. They acquire different “value structures,” depend-ing on their owners.” 2

Fernando Estévez González

Simultaneously, the effectiveness of those banal, mass-produced objects is based on a reduc-tion of complexity (cities, customs, landscapes), boiling it all down to an easily recognisable icon. Souvenirs do not hide second meanings, merely trivial clichés based on the empty mind of the tourist. This effect could be taken as an artistic reflection of the end of the age of culture, a miniature only superficially recognisable and repeated constantly, with an emphasis on its defining shape that is devoid of content. This leads to another metonym, that of death for the deceased, the shape remains but there is no purpose beyond the corpse. We exist because we are here and our identity resides in leaving traces of our existence.

Alejandro Gopar

During the first phase, the conversation with Mariana Torres focused on the dismantling of the project title. We wanted an arduous view, vague enough to not be part of the game of making memories from the souvenir, add-less.

30 de agosto de 2012 12:15 its just the word less ... ive ben thinking on how artists have this ambition to create and “add” information to the world, but is it necessary? most of the time i feel that we just create for no purpose at all - we know we want to create so we do, i guess its instinct, but right now im trying to make work without doing much at all...

The project initially proposed was a cultural exchange between two distant art looks and became a collective cultural research project, which, since then, has focused on an existentialist environment to art, souvenirs and what they both say about us. Returning to analyse the term less was very ambiguous and representative of what we wanted. On the one hand a reduction to the essence of the memory idea, which reflects the cultural mechanism that transforms reality into representation. And all the while pretending not to do much, or rather not to give much shape, simple. But it was in the way of thinking and doing which best represented an important part of our vision, we ignore the Made in order to focus on the Make:

“The wholesale manufactured souvenir presents a very simple mechanism and, at the same time, crushing efficiency: reducing the complexity of a place (country, city, natural environment, town or building complex) to easily identifiable icons. The tourist has little time for shopping and, therefore, does not want to waste time on second readings, on discovering unknown aspects. “ Oscar Guayabero

Among the photos of the assembly process of the first exhibition I found a series of photos in which Mariana appears sanding the wall to get an extract of the room, a way without adding shape. We collected traces of paint that did not remain exposed accidentally leaving almost invisible work. This action is to better define the conclusions of the dialogue and project development.

The sample design will collect all manner of proceeding to date, from the start of talks with Mariana to individual conclusions. It is a plant with a very little in terms of objects, like an

122 Alejandro Gopar 123

Como decía el antropólogo Fernándo Estévez González en su ensayo Narrativas de seducción, apropiación y muerte o el souvenir en la Época de la reproductibilidad turística, anteriormente citado, ‘el turismo es una de las prácticas culturales más características de las sociedades contemporáneas, que ha venido ocupando un lu-gar secundario en las ciencias sociales, el arte y las humanidades. La relevancia del turismo como metáfora de la forma de vida contemporánea exige perspectivas que den cuenta de su carácter complejo y multidimensional. Hoy en día, en el reino del turismo posmoderno, en el que se han desvane-cido las antiguas fronteras entre arte y artesanía, historia y relato, y realidad y ficción, los souvenirs se presentan como genuinas condensaciones de ese incesante tráfico transcultural en la era de la globalización.

Adentrándonos en el concepto de Souvenir, ahondámos en el ensayo, Esté-vez, nos apropiamos y partimos de una de sus tantas frases que citaremos durante todo el texto de que el Souvenir es el correlato de la experiencia del viaje. Un tropo privilegiado de esa vivencia móvil. Unas frases a las que ligadas a la del filósofo Walter Benjamin dará la dosis necesaria para abarcar los puntos clave en esta puesta en escena.: El souvenir, (el recuerdo) es la reliquia secularizada. Reliquia que proviene del cadáver, de la experiencia difunta a la que se le ha otorgado el nombramiento de vivencia.Y ese souvenir (souvenir) que es el complemento de la

Francisco Torres1 BREA, José Luis: Un ruido secreto: El arte en la era

póstuma de la cultura. Ed. Mestizo. Murcia, 1996.

2 ESTÉVEZ, González Fernando is a part-time farmer and lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of La Laguna, where he directs a Master’s course in Museology. He also coordinates the Museum of History and Anthropology of Tenerife

124 Francisco Torres 125Francisco Torres

‘vivencia’, no es otro que el correlato de la experiencia intangible del viaje, el me-diador del recuerdo, el que sedimenta el pasado humano, asimilándolo, realizando la fotosíntesis y transformándolo en saber. Ya no concibiendo que una mera prueba material del viaje pueda hacer referencia al lugar visitado, sino que se concebiría más bien como el viaje en sí mismo, el testimonio, más allá de la banalidad con la que su antecesor material es relacionado.El souvenir formará parte de la construcción de la experiencia del viaje. La mate-rialidad del souvenir contribuye a definir, a congelar en el tiempo y a localizar, una experiencia efímera vivida en un tiempo extra-ordinario en un tiempo y espacio ordinarios. Así, trayendo al presente algo que proviene de un lugar extraordinario que es el destino turístico. Convirtiéndonos así, el sujeto propio en sí mismo, en cierta medida en algo extra-ordinario, acumulador de experiencias vividas en el espacio y en el tiempo.

Adentrándonos por el segundo punto, el del privilegio. El turista ya no trata de identificarse con el turista de masas, sino que dedica más tiempo y dinero a la experiencia del viaje. Sirviendo de este modo el souvenir como un aval del cono-cimiento, experiencia y sofisticación. Aunque siendo un poco más ambiciosos, ya no se calificaría como turista, sino como un viajero individual con experiencia y conocimiento previo o sin él del destino turístico, pero que en cualquier caso su estrategia consiste en pasar por nativo, rechazando lo que los locales consideran soouvenirs para turistas. Él ya no es un turista. Este sujeto se encuentra en un pro-ceso de refinamiento en el consumo turístico, la última categoría para el turista-viajero posmoderno, quién reflexiona, acumula experiencia, vive. El souvenir en los términos que se concibe en este texto también es mer-cancía inasible, pero que al mismo tiempo niega su status como tal. Es ‘algo’ que proclama su carácter único y exclusivo y que para persona será interpretado y vivido de manera distinta, pero subjetiva. De esta forma el souvenir intenta hacer presente algo que está ausente. Un mundo encerrado en otro mundo. El souvenir encarna un vestigio material y espiritual de sus orígenes y simultáneamente signi-fica ausencia y pérdida, presencia y restauración. Llamando al recuerdo, el souve-nir afirma nuestra fe y deseo de persistencia y significado y preservación de la vida. Susan Stewart ha captado esta dimensión de una forma especialmente penetrante. Bajo el mecanismo del consumo turístico, el trabajo se torna en abstracción, la naturaleza en arte, y la historia en naturaleza muerta, como los souvenirs de la naturaleza del siglo XVIII y los victorianos (conchas de mar, hojas, mariposas bajo cristal), que eternizan un ambiente cerrándolo a la posibilidad de la experiencia vivida. Niegan el momento de la muerte imponiendo el éxtasis de una muerte eterna.

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Francisco Torres

In the words of anthropologist Fernándo Estévez González in his aforementioned essay Nar-rativas de seducción, apropiación y muerte o el souvenir en la Época de la reproductibilidad turística, ‘tourism is one of the most characteristic cultural practices in contemporary societies, despite it taking second place in the social sciences, art and humanities. The relevance of tourism as a metaphor of contemporary lifestyles demands perspectives that do justice to its complex and multidimensional nature. At present, within the realm of postmodern tourism, where the former distinctions have disappeared between art and crafts, history and narrative, and reality and fiction, souvenirs stand as a genuine distillation of that relentless transcultural traffic in this age of globalization. Analyzing the concept of the Souvenir in detail, if we examine the Estévez essay more deeply, we appropriate and take as a starting point one of the many lines we will quote throughout the text, which maintains that the Souvenir is the correlation to the travel experi-ence, a privileged expression of that passing experience. Sentences, linked to the lines of the philosopher of Walter Benjamin, will provide the words required to cover the key points of this proposition: The souvenir (the memento) is a secularized relic. A relic that derives from the cadaver, from the defunct experience, which is referred to as the lived experience. The souvenir (souvenir) that is the complement to that “experience” is no other than the correlation of the intangible experience of the journey, a facilitator for the memory, a sediments of the human

En el consumo turístico de los vestigios materiales del espíritu del Otro, éste es sacrificado para que nosotros podamos realizar nuestra relación con una autenti-cidad originaria y renovar nuestra fe en lo divino y en la continuidad del mundo. Como ha sugerido Jon Goss, esto es la Eucaristía. El souvenir realiza una eucaristía, celebra la muerte del “Otro” para asegurarnos la continuidad de nuestra vida. Sin embargo, el turista posmoderno, el turista reflexivo, quizá esté en con-diciones de aceptar la irreductibilidad del “Otro”, pero sin el deseo de sacrificar su cuerpo y poseer su espíritu. Ahora que todo está turistizado quizá sea también el momento de introducir decididamente el turismo en las agendas de las ciencias sociales y las humanidades. Los anuncios son los que verdaderamente organizan esos pequeños pero efectivos microviajes psíquicos con destino a la propia biografía. Y eso porque ella, la biografía propia, como diría José Luis Brea en su ensayo Fábricas de identidad (retóricas del autorretrato), es en efecto el valor más en alza en el mundo contem-poráneo, el producto mejor vendido y el que más escasea en los tiempos del capita-lismo globalizado. Como decía Ulrich Beck, nada hay que se desee tanto en las sociedades actuales como lo que más falta, el tener “una vida propia”. Y no hay territorio de la autobiografía fuera del entorno de lo colectivo, de la comunidad, porque toda la pregnancia de una vida propia se gesta en efecto en los cruces con el otro.

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possess the spirit. Now that everything, and everywhere, is overrun by tourism, it may also be time to make a firm commitment to introduce tourism into the agenda of social science and humanities. Adverts are what genuinely organize those minor, but effective mental micro-trips that become part of one’s own biography. Since one’s own biography, as José Luis Brea said in his essay Fábricas de identidad (retóricas del autorretrato), is in fact gaining popularity in today’s world, the best selling product and the one in most short supply in times of globalized capitalism.

In the words of Ulrich Beck, there is nothing contemporary societies wish for more than what they most lack, to have “a life of their own.” There is no room for autobiography outside the field of the collective, of community, given that our lives derive their meaning from our interactions with others.

past experience, assimilating it, photosynthesising it and transforming it into knowledge. No longer is it considered as a mere material proof of the journey, a reference to the visited desti-nation, but it is conceived as the journey in itself, the testimony, beyond the banality with which the material predecessor is related. The souvenir becomes part of the construction of the experience of the journey. The materiality of the souvenir helps to define, to frame-freeze and locate a fleeting experience that took place in an extra-ordinary time within ordinary space and time, thus bringing into the present an element that belongs to the extraordinary place that is the tourist destination. To a certain extent, it transforms us, the actual subjects, into something extra-ordinary, the accumu-lator of experiences lived in space and in time. Now exploring further second point, that of privilege, the tourist no longer identifies with mass tourism, preferring to spend more time and money on the experience of the trip. The souvenir, therefore, becomes an endorsement of his knowledge, experience and sophistication. Putting it more boldly, the term tourist would no longer apply. It would be more appropriate to use the term experienced individual traveller, with or without prior knowledge of the destina-tion. In any case, the strategy involves blending with the natives, rejecting what the locals consider tourist souvenirs. He is no longer a tourist. The individual is immersed in a process of refinement in tourist consumption, the ultimate category for the postmodern tourist-traveller, who reflects, accumulates experiences, lives.

In these terms, the souvenir as conceived in this text also stands as an ungraspable object, which at the same time denies its status as such. It is ‘something’ that proclaims its unique and exclusive character, which each person will interpret and experience differently, but subjectively. Thus, the souvenir tries to make present something that is absent. A world enclosed in another world. The souvenir embodies a material and spiritual vestige of its ori-gins and, simultaneously, means absence and loss, presence and restoration. By resorting to memory, the souvenir reaffirms our faith and our desire for persistence and the meaning and preservation of life.

Susan Stewart captured that dimension in a specially penetrating manner. Under the mechanism of tourist consumption, work becomes abstraction, nature becomes art, and history becomes still life, in the manner of organic souvenirs from the 18th century and the Victorians (seashells, leaves, butterflies in cabinets), which perpetuate an environment closing it off to the possibility of the experience. They deny the moment of death by imposing the ecstasy of an eternal death. By consuming the material vestiges of the spirit of the Other, the latter is sacrificed so that we can experience our relationship with original authenticity and renew our faith in the divine and in the continuity of the world. As Jon Goss suggested, this is the Eucha-rist. The souvenir performs a Eucharist, it celebrates the death of the “Other” to guarantee the continuity of our life.

However, the postmodern tourist, the thoughtful tourist, may perhaps be in a position to accept the irreducibility of the “Other” without feeling the desire to sacrifice the body and

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Lo digital nos ha permitido extender nuestra obsesión por retener las expe-riencias, cabe plantearnos pues, ¿qué hacemos con todas estas imágenes? ¿por qué esta obsesión?¿Qué representan para nosotros? ¿Qué es lo que recordamos de ese momento, la fotografía reconstruye nuestro recuerdo, lo sustituye o lo revive? ¿es así lo que fue? En la primera fase del proyecto tomé fotografías de los lugares que transi-tamos en un viaje, lugares comunes que no solemos fotografiar pero trasmiten la esencia del viaje, dejando fuera a las personas que habitaron ese lugar y el motivo del viaje. El formato se planteó sobre el álbum de fotos clásico para fortalecer la idea de objeto y recuerdo nostálgico del viaje, de la experiencia más que de la representación de lo usual del turista que sería la fotografía del protagonista con el monumento. En la segunda fase, sigo pensando en lo que nos queda después del viaje a través de la imagen fotográfica, no es el álbum si no el disco duro el que guarda nuestros recuerdos con su gran cantidad de imágenes, incapaz de decirnos ni ense-ñarnos nada. “En memoria” El tercer trabajo, “Ese momento” explora los diferentes testimonios de las personas fotografiadas por separado en imágenes tomadas a lo largo de sus vidas.

En memoria

Inés Peña

Lo que planteo con este trabajo es dialogar y reflexionar sobre conceptos asociados a la imagen y al acto fotográfico. Desde que comenzó la era digital, el acceso al uso de cámaras fotográficas se extendió enormemente, todo el mundo es fotografiado, fotografía y se exhibe con-tinuamente. La versatilidad de las máquinas y las redes sociales abren una nueva mirada hacia nosotros mismos y hacia los demás. Todo el mundo dispone de una cámara en su móvil y la usa incesantemente, hasta el punto de convertirse en una acción cotidiana u obsesiva e indispensable para realizar un viaje. Ocupamos nuestro tiempo de ocio en tomar las imágenes, testimonio del lugar donde hemos estado, a veces sin permanecer mucho tiempo más del de la instantánea para observar el paisaje más allá del encuadre fotográfico, y la satis-facción no queda completada hasta que la exhibimos y sabemos que alguien la ha visto. Convertimos nuestra experiencia en imágenes sin hacer el esfuerzo de rete-ner en la memoria ya que la cámara hace ese trabajo por nosotros. Guardamos imágenes que tomamos en nuestros viajes, eventos familiares, nuestros cambios de imagen, amigos, casas, lugares… imágenes que se nos olvidan, que recordamos, que protegemos y rechazamos, a veces hasta nos molesta ver algu-nas de ellas pero somos incapaces de borrarlas por miedo a perder esa porción de vida, ese vínculo con el pasado. El antiguo álbum de fotos ha pasado a convertirse en un disco duro clasifi-cado por carpetas que guardan nuestras experiencias. La memoria tiene la capaci-dad de guardar fragmentos de los momentos vividos, igual que la fotografía, pero es capaz de reconstruir a través de sensaciones una narración de los hechos, mientras que la fotografía muestra lo que fue ese instante aislado. Carpetas llenas de imáge-nes, momentos aislados, que nos ayudan a reconstruir el recuerdo.Nos movemos dentro del terreno emocional a través de objetos que sin nuestro testimonio carecen de sentido.

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Ese momento

Pantano de la Sotonera. Posiblemente hace más de 13 años. Algunos fines de se-mana nos íbamos los cuatro, a veces venían amigos, a pasar el día a este pantano en verano. Mi madre preparaba la comida por la mañana y mi padre conducía hasta un lugar dónde no hubiera gente pasando por caminos destrozados, llenos de baches y agujeros, peligrando la integridad de nuestro coche. Es una zona muy seca y las orillas del pantano y su fondo son barrizales, a menudo perdíamos la chancleta dentro y uno de nuestros pasatiempos era embadurnarnos con el lodo. Solíamos colocarnos en el único árbol que lindaba con el pantano, el que apa-rece en la foto de fondo, en ese árbol y al coche era dónde mi padre ataba varias telas para cubrirnos del sol. En ese momento estábamos comiendo patatas fritas antes de comer y me salió una patata enorme con la que mi madre nos quiso retratar.

Acerca de la de la Sotonera: Que feliz se es de niño con poco! jaja. Aunque en casa no había presupuesto para irnos a la playa de veraneo, nosotros la encontrábamos en el Pantano de la Sotonera. Un pantano en el que hacíamos guerras de barro y la sensación de vivir! que era oír crujir el barro seco sobre nuestros pies, patatas el gallo rojo, una som-bra y a disfrutar!

Visita en PortsmouthLa mayoría de los días llovió y la ciudad no ofrece mucho que hacer y más con nuestros horarios españoles. Cuando terminábamos de comer casi todo ya estaba cerrado.

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sion? What do those images mean to us? What do we remember about that moment? Does the photograph reconstruct, replace or revive the memory? Is that what happened? During the first stage of the project, I took photographs in the places we visited on a jour-ney, common places that aren’t usually photographed but do transmit the essence of the trip, leaving out the people who inhabited the place and the reasons behind the journey. I used the format of the traditional photo album to underline the idea of the object and the nostalgia of travelling, focusing on the experience and shied away from the typical snapshots of travellers with monuments. The second stage also touches upon what lingers on after the journey, in the shape of the photographic image. Hard drives, not photo albums, store our memories in huge amounts of images, without telling us or teaching us anything. The third project, entitled “Ese momento,” explores a collection of statements from the people photographed separately over the course of their lives.

Ese día salió el sol y anticipamos una barbacoa que íbamos a celebrar más tarde. En una hora preparamos todo, fuimos a comprar carbón y algo de beber, fuimos a por la barbacoa a casa de unos amigos suyos para disfrutar de las últimas longanizas, morcillas y el resto de carne que se habían traído de Zaragoza. Pedro cocinó, nosotras preparamos ensalada y comimos con su compañero de piso italiano en la terraza al sol.

En Portsmouth Parece que es una versión del siglo XXI de la foto de la Sotonera. Un picnic con cuatro cosas en un ambiente ruinoso , pero el sol y la buena compañía lo hacen todo. También confirma que en Inglaterra, puede haber sol!

Inés Peña Bueno

This project aims to discuss and reflect upon concepts linked to the image and the photo-graphic act. With the dawn of the digital era, access to photographic cameras became widespread. Eve-ryone takes pictures, has pictures taken and is constantly on show. Versatile devices and social networks open up a new perspective on ourselves and others. Everyone has a camera on their phone, which they use constantly, to the point of obsession. No journey is complete without it. We spend our free time taking photos that serve as evidence of the places we have visited, often without having been there longer than the time we spent snapping the picture, viewing the landscape only through the lens of the camera. Satisfaction is not complete until we upload the photo and know people have seen it. We translate our experience into images without try-ing to retain the memory – the camera does that for us. We keep the photos we take of our trips, family get-togethers, new looks, friends, houses, places... Images that we forget, remember, safeguard, reject. Some we dislike, but we are unable to delete them for fear of losing that part of our life, that link to the past. Photo albums have given way to hard drives that break our experiences down into folders. Memory is able to store fragments of our experiences, like snapshots, and is also able to recon-struct and conjure up a narrative of the events using sensations, whilst a photograph simply renders that isolated moment. Folders packed with images, isolated moments, helping us to reconstruct the memory. We journey through our emotional territory aided by objects that would be devoid of meaning without us having borne witness to it. The digital way of life has allowed us to extend our obsession with retaining experiences. The question that arises, is what shall we do with all those images? What merits that obses-

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Sesenta segundos para vivir

Objetos recogidos, pensamientos, sentimientos y observaciones sobre lo que está sucediendo y que para mi están relacionadas con la recesión. Pues, constante-mente, las noticias muestran historias de “gente común” y de la “vida real” de cómo la crisis nos está afectado a“nosotros”- intentan que empalicemos con ellas - pero tienden a elegir candidatos que no parecen nada comunes, cuyas vidas están muy lejos de cualquier tipo de realidad con la que puedes estar familiarizado, general-mente escogidas por su carácter sensacionalista, y como consecuencia frustran su objetivo, alienan a las masas apáticas, aún más.

Ahora nadie ve las noticias

Durante estos años de recesión mundial, “crisis” se ha convertido en un concepto abstracto, una leyenda, casi un mito. Es algo que nos afecta a todos de muchas maneras distintas, pero al mismo tiempo su omnipresencia es tal, que parece co-menzar a desvanecerse en el ambiente, tomando forma etérea. Se hace difícil de-terminar exactamente qué, cómo y por qué sucedió, contando solo con pinceladas sueltas de información que nos ofrecen los medios de comunicación y que hemos ido absorbiendo a lo largo de los últimos cuatro años y medio. En mi primer año de universidad, durante la primera clase, me sorprendí a mi misma distraída y recuperé la atención justo en el momento en el que se mencionaba la frase “el sentido de ti mismo”. Me había perdido la explicación de esto, pero lo consideré irrelevante ya que solo era un aspecto del tema que se tra-taba, que probablemente no fuera tan importante. Finalmente, resultó ser el tema entorno al que debíamos desarrollar un ensayo y me había perdido su definición. Tengo la impresión que la recesión es similar, no le prestamos mucha atención al principio y luego, cuando empezamos a prestársela, nos hemos perdido de qué se trataba. Sin embargo, los medios de comunicación nos bombardean con ella a diario, subministrándonos tanta información, que necesitaríamos mucho tiempo extra de nuestras vidas para empezar a tener apenas una idea aproximada sobre ello. Así que todo comienza a mezclarse convirtiéndose en un zumbido que se escucha de fondo y que inevitablemente, te cansas, comienzas a desconectar.

Laura Gower

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Sobre la segunda fase

Tras comprender que me era imposible hacer un balance similar al de la primera fase y tras obligarme a reflexionar sobre las cuestiones planteadas por Miriam en Facebook he decidido resolver este texto como reflexiones y pinceladas sobre las sensaciones obtenidas durante el intercambio. La primera fase fue mejor y más productiva. El intercambio dependió de lo que se involucró cada uno con su pareja y personalmente con el proyecto. En mi caso personal me involucré mucho

desde el principio con mi pareja, Jonaton Beatie, con el cual llegué incluso a enta-blar una buena amistad. Estuve con él en Manchester y por supuesto quedó invitado a venir a Tenerife cuando quisiera. Esto sig-

nifica que, independientemente del trabajo que pudiese salir resultante, se crearon conexiones de forma espontánea con una parte del continente que jamás hubiera visitado sin una excusa como lo fue éste proyecto: Identidades Souvenir.

La plástica de las viejas nuevas tecnologías.

Es casi ridículo decir que usamos las nuevas tecnologías cuando las webcams y las videoconferencias existen desde 1980, aunque si bien es cierto que no se populari-zaron dichos servicios hasta la década de los 90’ y 2000, con la aparición de equipos con precios mucho más asequibles y software como Netmeeting o Skype en 2003. Y es que 30 años puede que no sean nada para un historiador, un geólogo o un pa-leontólogo, pero en la informática eso es una eternidad.

Oscar HRLaura Gower

No one watches the news now

Over the years the global recession has become something of an abstract concept, a legend, almost a myth. It’s something which affects all our lives in a plethora of ways, yet at the same time is so omnipresent that it begins to fade into the background, and it becomes hard to pinpoint exactly what, how or why it happened, other than the sketchy details we’ve absorbed over the last four and a half years from the media.

In my first year of university, during the very first lecture, I found myself getting distracted and tuned back in to catch the phrase “the sense of self”. I’d just missed the explanation of that, but dismissed it as just one point, probably not that important. It turned out to be the subject of an essay and I’d just missed the definition. I find the recession similar – no one paid much atten-tion at first, then when we started paying attention, we’d missed out on what it was all about.

Yet we are bombarded with it daily by the media, so much information that you’d need several extra life times to even begin to make sense of it, and it all begins to merge together into that buzz of background talk that inevitably begins to make you feel sleepy.

Sixty seconds to life

Collected objects, thoughts, feelings, and observations on things that are happening during, and possibly related to, this global recession. The news constantly features “ordinary people” and “real life stories” of how the recession is affecting “you”, but tends to pick candidates who are not ordinary, whose lives are completely removed from any kind of reality you are familiar with and who are generally just picked because they make for a sensational story, thus of course defeating the object and alienating the apathetic masses yet more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWeXdPuv94s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXB07sBq3Mw

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Oscar HRBien, vamos a ver... tras numerosas videoconferencias con E. Eisbein (en Dresden) y puesto que Joni ya no continuó en el proyecto y Sam no podía, ella se convirtió en mi nueva pareja en Identidades Souvenir.” 10:30 Miriam C. Cabezajmmmm vale espera un segundo, lo entiendo pero me perdí en una cosa, E. Eisbein se convirtió en tu pareja de intercambio porque Joni se fue y Sam no podía, pero eso como surge la idea de establecer el intercambio con ella? 11:48 OscarEs un ejercicio más de intercambio que surge espontáneamente y por iniciativa propia. Precisamente una de las ideas de este tipo de trabajo colaborativo es que cada uno tiene la posibilidad de hacer y aportar cosas que crea oportunas, aunque no estén dentro del guión, es decir que las dinámicas se crean para fomentar un trabajo que al final sea autónomo y cree sus propias dinámicas. Vamos no se, así lo entiendo yo. 11:52 OscarComo son los procesos creativos? Nunca lo sabremos. Yo empecé a hacer fotos así con E. Eisbein, que es artista tb, al principio era un juego, luego me pareció que estaba todo relacionado y que las imágenes eran potentes y decidí incluirlo como obra. 11:59 Miriamahhh ok ahora lo pillo, pues way, yo en barcelona conocía a una chica que hacía cosas con skype y su novio en plan, encender el skype y dormir

“juntos” y cosas así, por si te in-teresa 12:01 Oscarajaja, si esto tb lo he hecho. Y quedar para comer o desayunar. Pero esto luego hay que traducirlo de al-guna forma plástica. Gracias, yo voy a seguir investigando en esta línea. 12:02 Miriamsi simplemente se grababan y la obra iba entre la performans y la imagen plástica del documento resultante que dialoga con el espectador que puede “empatizar con la historia” como en el cine, bueno esa es una de mis lecturas. Ellos fueron los que me enseñaron el vídeo de justin biever de la piscina que posteé en el grupo 12:04 OscarEse video tiene más chicha de la que parece. Visualmente suceden cosas significativas de lo que esta suce-diendo. 12:21 Miriampor si te sirve yo una vez por el cumple años de una amiga, lo que hicimos fue ver simultáneamente nuestra peli favorita (yo en granada ella en tenerife) y conectadas por skype, nadie dijo nada o no mucho en toda la película pero nos daba la sensación de estar más “juntas” que solo quedando para ver la peli simultáneamente.

Es por ello que, con la tecnología avanzando a ritmos vertiginosos, a veces no advertimos que nuestros hábitos de comunicación han cambiado y los hemos asimilado con la misma celeridad que los desarrolladores lanzan nuevos productos a la red. Tampoco advertimos que nuestro cerebro ha absorbido una cultura visual que contiene una imaginería nueva, paisajes y encuadres nuevos a través de la ven-tana abierta de nuestro lado del computador. He identificado tras este proceso de trabajo y durante las diferentes situaciones de exilio en las que me he encon-trado dos cosas importantes:

1. Que veremos cómo proliferará el desarrollo de proyectos artísticos, educativos, lúdicos o empresariales medianteel trabajo colaborativo de comunidades conec-tadas en Red, y que recientemente se ha bautizado como “crowdworking” .

2. Que las necesidades de comunicación con las perso-nas afines que encontramos en nuestro viaje biográfico fomentan un aumento del uso de herramientas como facebook, Skype o Dropbox.

Intuyo que éste momento de crisis de todo nuestro sistema económico y de valores está truncando la percepción de comunidad y de grupo preconcebidas cultural-mente y es ahora más que nunca que el individuo quiere, primero reivindicar su propia indentidad y segundo encontrar al grupo que de verdad le representa, aunque éste no esté ni siquiera en su misma ciudad, estado o nación. Sentimos la necesidad de construir nuestra identidad personal, decidir quiénes somos y com-partirlo, comunicarlo. Para ello, las herramientas y posibilidades tecnológicas a través de internet nos ofrecen posibilidades que ni sus propios diseñadores imagi-naron cuando las crearon. Los propios usuarios aprenden el manejo de las mismas, las moldean y adaptan a sus necesidades de comunicación. Tal es el punto que se pueden detectar a día de hoy procesos creativos exclusivos que los usuarios han creado para estas plataformas, convirtiéndolas en el soporte plástico final. Los usuarios se adaptan al tamaño del ‘banner’ de la portada de Facebook para crear microrelatos, hacen sus propios ‘colages’ usando ‘plugins’ o ‘apps’ gra-tuitas, crean un nuevo imaginario con los planos que ofrece un ‘netmeeting’ desde un ‘Ipad’ o más recientemente, hacen cortos de 15s como propone ‘Instagram’ a sus usuarios. Eso sí, sólo si dispones de la última tecnología.

Fotos expuestas en Man-

chester vuelven a casa por

correo ordinario. Cortesía de

Jonaton D. Beattie.

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Oscar HR

About the second stage

Upon realising that it was impossible to make an assessment similar to that of the first stage and after forcing myself to reflect on the issues Miriam proposed on Facebook, I have decided to present this text as a series of conclusions and general observations on the sensations that I have felt during the exchange. The first stage was better and more productive. The exchange depended on the involve-ment of each artist and his or her partner and his or her own commitment to the project. In my case, from the get-go, I was committed to my partner, Jonathon Beatie, to the point that we became good friends. I travelled to Manchester and I, obviously, invited him to visit Tenerife. Therefore, regardless of the resulting work, I spontaneously created a connection with a part of the continent that I never would have visited without an excuse such as this project: Souvenir Identities.

The artistic style of old new technologies

It sounds almost preposterous to call them new technologies, since we’ve been using webcams and video conferences since 1980, although these services didn’t become widespread until the 1990s and 2000s, thanks to affordable equipment and the launch of software such as Netmeet-ing and Skype in 2003. Thirty years may be of little significance to a historian, geologist or palaeontologist, but 30 years seems like forever in the IT world. Technology advances at full throttle, so much so that we sometimes don’t realize that our communication habits have changed. We have assimilated them at the same speed as develop-ers release new products online. Neither have we realized that our brain has absorbed a visual culture containing a new imagery, landscapes and frames through the open window on our side of the computer. This work process and the various periods of exile I have experienced have allowed me to identify two main issues:

1. There will be a rise in artistic, educational, entertainment and corporate projects based on collaborative work between networked communities, recently coined as “crowdworking.”

2. Our desire to communicate with kindred spirits that we encounter during our biographical journey encourages an increase in the use of Facebook, Skype, Dropbox and similar tools.

Fotografía digital con Skype.

Oscar HR, España.

Elisabeth Eisbein, Alemania.

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Sammy HammyHere I have a few links that I think will explain what it is I’m interested in a bit better than I did the other day… that is to look at the effects on agriculture, the post – Industrial Revolution, the way the spaces have been occupied since http://www.theshowroom.org/about.html?id=25and in some cases the way they are being ‘reformed’ or upon distruc-tion returning to agricultural land, as they were before the revolution, I think the link to the project here is that this is a good

Recently I developed a particular interest in how the Industrial Revolution determined the future of the north of England, both socially and economically. I was especially struck by the “visual evolution” of its landscape and in particular the urban space. Many factories, buildings and homes of the industrial age have been stranded, reformed for various activities (commercial or cultural), demolished or converted into residential ‘chic’ areas, creat-ing a kind of patchwork that extends in many cities and northern people. Given that the purpose of Souvenir Identities was to promote the exchange and that I was incorporated late, in its second phase, which proposed that each would make a personal work and then share with our peers through Skype, I wanted to give my contribu-tion to the project or by collaborative interac-tive approach. I would do this either with my fellow project peoples or people external to it, letting me experience an exchange during the time of producing work as they did with the other participants in the first phase. The result that was reached was not as important to me as an opportunity to explore, experiment and enjoy the process.

Samuel HunterI believe that the downfall of our financial and value system is shattering our culturally precon-ceived perceptions of community and group, and now more than ever individuals want to, first and foremost, defend their own identity and then find a group to relate to, albeit it not in the same city, state or nation. We feel the need to build a personal identity, to decide who we are and share it, communicate it. Internet-based technologies and tools offer a range of possibilities that not even their designers could have imagined when they created them. Users learn how to use, shape and adapt them to their needs for communication to the point that, at present, we can detect exclusive creative processes that users have created for these platforms, transform-ing them into the ultimate artistic resource. Users adapt to the size of the ‘banner’ of the Facebook home page to create micro-stories, they create collages using ‘plugins’ or free ‘apps,’ they create a new imagery with ‘Netmeeting’ maps using an ‘iPad’ or, more recently, ‘Instagram’ users make 15-second shorts. However, you can only do all this is if you’re working with the latest technology.

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and made me think, here I leave some of their testimonials:

J&A Fruit - “Most of our produce is grown in Lancashire and some from Lincolnshire, we try to get as much produce as we can from these areas, summertime is the best for that. We do get foreign produce from Spain, mainland and Canary Islands, America, Germany, Ireland and Egypt. They are all shipped to a wholesaler in Preston and we travel to buy them from there.”

Sharps’ Butchers- “We get our meat lo-cally, from Skipton and Barrowford. Most of our customers are elderly and young customers seem to take more flavoured meats, Chinese pork chops, burgers etc. Our stall has regular trade but we know people are suffering and have seen a lot of stalls close, we’ve had the business for eight years and trade has built up year by year, though we use tactics like having eggs, flavourings or other every-day things on the front shelf to attract people.”

Seatons Sweets- “I buy from a wholesaler in Preston named Hancocks, trade is steady and we sell every day, over the week roughly 70% of trade are elderly customers and at weekends it switches to mainly children. This stall has been in the market since it opened and it has survived well. I believe markets died for a simple reason, supermarkets took over. Like retail parks (Liverpool 1, Trafford Centre) have done in the high street with

question out to some of them and maybe video it? Not to use your own persuasive methods against you but cake would be plenty full... let me know what you think Laura GowerHaha that sounds awesome! Dunno if we would get it in time for the deadline for this project though, it’s the end of April isn’t it? I don’t think I’m gonna have much time

Oscar HRHey man, how are you?There’s meeting today? Sammy HammyEy Oscar man sorry I was having dinner! Oscar HRhaha ok

reflection of the North of England, particularly Lancashire and York-shire which seem to have become in-visible places since the retraction of industry, and also that prior to the Industrial Revolution had an ‘Agricultural Revolution’http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeand-style/video/2010/oct/19/incredible-edible-todmordenI’ve also found this so you can read it in Spanish:http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/06/01/econo-mia/1338570979.htmthis town is one of the worst cases, as it was to small to sus-tain anything afterwards and people find themselves trapped, this move-ment is a return to agriculture as a form of purpose for a town and it’s people and their are simi-lar occurances elsewhere… This is just a brainstorm and a bit more information but it’ll become more focused and by the end of the week the idea will be clear

21:04 Sammy HammyEvening’ Laura, it’s funny you just posted that as I was on the cusp of propositioning you with something related very closely! I was wonder-ing if per chance you’d like to work together on that question... if I can get the ingredients mixed down here, it’s just I work in a serviced office building with lots of small to medium sized companies within that, it also has conference space so I thought it could be cool if we unite forces and put that

With this in mind, I tried to participate in the ideas of my colleagues or make small col-laborative actions within what I could. Below I discuss some ideas that were proposed and were not cultivated for various reasons, but interesting nonetheless.From a conversation that came up in one of our group meetings via Skype, where we talked about the food industry and food cul-ture in the UK (takeaway food or ready meals) and in Spain as well as talking about the su-permarkets and how traditional markets were disappearing, Inés Peña proposed to take pictures of the places in the markets where we are living each to compare them visually (Burnley, Tenerife, Barcelona, etc.). The idea seemed exciting because I was interested in being able to compare the cultural aspects

that revolve around the market and especially those that can be read (or not) in the images of each site, depending on who the viewer is (local or foreign).

At this point I decided to walk around the market in Burnley, the town where I currently live. On this tour, I took several pictures to compare the visual composition of the small stalls and supermarkets. I talked to some of the shopkeepers which were very rewarding

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the houses, most of them were boarded up, ready to be demol-ished, being replaced by the social housing, although they’ll now have what I call a “friendly brick” visually, they’ll probably still be shoddy houses but made to look better with a more modern design. This appearance is not as aggressive or vio-lent, reading that makes them no longer “this is a problematic area” and so it becomes silent. Walking through these boarded ghost streets I came to the area where they were starting to build the new houses, socially the neighbourhood still seems the same, same dog with a different collar.Through these two psychogeographical rides, I realised that thanks to them I was getting to “re- know” my town. Now it looked different, having walked the streets looking at the cor-ners, in part I felt like I was discovering a new place, different from where I’ve been living. I looked at more rides I could make, I went to the tourist office to find out about tourist places to visit or routes that we can do, like pretending to be any other tourist in Burnley, “re- learn” the town from that role.

So I decided to start doing interviews with various people who worked in my building and I felt that in an office I could find a variety of points of view that may offer a wide range of tours and experiences.

Interview Questions:

convenience for clothes shopping. People went to town to shop in the market, it was the centre, then supermarkets built up on the outside and put everything under one roof. Supermarkets became possible with the transport revolution, when transporting goods became cheaper and easier. In a town like Burnley, which was built on the cot-ton and coal industry, when you take these two big trades out and don’t replace it with anything it collapses, far eastern countries took these trades and made it cheaper, except coal, England focused on selling its cotton machin-ery to these countries, who with cheap labour could then sell back cotton products for less. And now it’s a mentality of ‘Once you pick up a basket, you’re going to fill it’ this is because supermarkets are so convenient or always display offers in bright lights, or even have shelves with sweets and chewing gum at the tills so you generally you buy more than you need. I think shopping in the market is cheaper because of this and on top of that you used to make a day of it. I remember the small personal service you used to receive at the market and the conversations you’d have with people.

I work in an office building that is located in an old mill from the industrial age, by the Leeds- Liverpool canal where histori-cally there were coming and going goods and raw materials from the ports that lead down to the sea and to each of the different cities and towns with their different factories. One day, whilst cleaning in one of the stores I found an old map of Burnley from 1936 where you could see that there were not as many houses and residential areas, but there were many more factories and farms. I took some time with it, comparing the differences with the present, most of the neighbourhoods where I have lived were fields in that map. There were many factories and rows of houses that were built close to them for the people working there, like the area where I work.

I decided to take another walk of recognition, deriving from my workplace, taking pictures of the canal, factories, housing and the neighbourhood in general. Unconsciously I focused on

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Fase II.

- What is your name?

- What is your job?

- Can you tell me about where you live?

- Can you draw me a map of a route through Burnley, of par-ticular interest or pleasantness for you?

- Do you have any memory concerning that route?

From there I walked them, the idea was to explore the same place under different eyes, experiences and memories, to allow me to analyse it from different perspectives, follow and “re- know” it over and over again, the same but different place

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Alejandro Gopar

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Francisco Torres

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Inés Peña

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Laura Gower

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Oscar HR / E. Eisbein

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Samuel Hunter

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Samuel Hunter

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Exposición

19. 12. 2013 – 31. 1. 2014Fundación MAPFRE GUANARTEMELa Laguna, Tenerife

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Alejandro Gopar

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Oscar HR

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Oscar HRAlejandro Gopar

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Inés Peña

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Laura Gower

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Laura GowerInés Peña

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Francisco Torres

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Francisco Torres Francisco Torres

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