Javier Castro: Coliseum

Part of the forth coming exhibition Plural Domains/Selected Works from the Collection of the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Fall 2021.

In this installation, the artist pushes traditional audio- visual methods by using multiple channels rather than a single one to transform the space into a fragmented experience for the viewer. By liberating the audio from the video, a freedom is gained that allows the participant to associate varying sounds and images, modifying the work to their choosing, and ultimately, creating their own narrative.

The screens depict varying scenes of a fish fight in Havana, from the hierarchy of the characters to the perspective of the battling animals. The creatures become the main protagonists as they establish an analogy between themselves. Ethical limits are pushed in the quest for ‘money-time-fun’. The main actions take centre stage in the layout, while the secondary events hang in the periphery. The viewer is enticed to move throughout the space to fully access the artist’s vision.