tempo

tempo is an installation that is set in two different countries, but happen simultaneously. It aims at artistically developing ways of measuring the passing of time. In one country, participants share stories and interact. I Their touch generates sound, which is sent to the installation on the other part of the world via OSC. In the installation space, participants hear the sounds and watch the live transmission of the interaction, while observing piles of fruits and ice melt on tables covered by poems on the topics research.

TouchMe sensor by Playtronica, Arduino, Isadora, WebSynths

Developed in residency at LAKE Studios, in Berlin (2021), through grant by Tanzpakt Reconnect NEUSTART Kultur with Federal funds from BKM, then shown at Espacio Expectante in Mexico (2021 – 2023).

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tempo is an installation-performance on ways of measuring the passing of time in moments where nothing happens.

The first one is a clock. A display with layers of frozen fruit, each defrosting in different time frames. When the top layer falls, 20 minutes have passed. When the one over it falls, another 20 minutes, and so on. Time can also be measured through the smell of the unfrosted fruits on the ground, which, in the warm environment, start to decay over time.

The second one is a memory. A video of the act of sharing a very personal story on near death experiences, but without sound. The contraction and movement of the muscles in the hands and chest tell the narrative. The video is played in loop. It is a mixture of live and pre-recorded content that happens in another space – in this case, LAKE Studios Berlin – filmed from different perspectives captured by closeups of surveillance cameras in an installation by Teoma Naccarato and John MacCallum.

The third one is a poem. The text appears and disappears depending on the contraction of random muscles in the arms and chest that have sensors attached to them.The translation of the date received through the sensors to the movement of the text is done using the Isadora Software.

Conception, production, performance: Ana Sofia Calixto
Video: Teoma Naccarato and John MacCallum
Poem: Júlia Peró
Sound: Foundation of Time – Jon Bjork

Special thanks to Mark Coniglio, Benjamin Krieg, and Marcela Giesche, who guided me through this residency.