Rewilding

2018 - Film & Video (Film & Video)

8:40 minutes (looped)

Gary-Ross Pastrana


Gary-Ross Pastrana’s video installation Rewilding consists of three large-scale projections placed across the exhibition space. The poetic footage filmed by the artist portrays three interconnected worlds: a colony of termites; a piano repair workshop in the outskirts of Manila; and an empty concert theatre. Their interconnectivity is shaped by the voice-over of three narrators: a musician discussing the balance between order and chaos found in classical music; a piano repairman describing termite infestations in an instrument of European origin; and a scientist describing the unique social structures of this tropical parasite. As the time-lapse of the films progresses, the sound intensity of the piano keys crescents, while increasingly active behavior from the termites appears on screen. In the societal structures of termites, subjects can become kings or queens if any of them dies, a sharp contrast to the feudal neo-colonial hierarchical society of the Philippines.


Gary-Ross Pastrana is an artist interested in the philosophies of art and the epistemologies of the art object. His unique conceptualist practice, often addressing destruction and mutation of material, differs from the more symbolic, allegorical, nation-building art practices largely found in contemporary Filipino art. Therefore the relevancy of Pastrana’s work lies in the artist’s experimentation with more subtle and poetic languages involving non-linear moving images and other fields of knowledge, such as music and science. The way that classical music appears in his work can be seen in relation to a number of contemporary artists interested in its sonic value and embodied (colonial) history of westernization. Pastrana’s work is also a sophisticated approach to the dichotomy of culture and nature, and to current relevant sociological discourse on humanity’s relationship to non-human animals.


Colors:



Related works sharing similar palette  
» see more

Ligia Lewis: Complaint, A Lyric
© » CONTEMPORARYAND

Ligia Lewis: Complaint, A Lyric | Contemporary And Ligia Lewis, A Plot / A Scandal ...

Donald of Doom Tank
© » KADIST

Kristen Morgin

2008

Donald of Doom Tank (2008) is a replica of a vintage metal toy with Donald Duck’s image one side and a soldier on the other...

New York’s Merchant’s House Museum Fears ‘Irreparable Damage’ From Proposed Construction
© » ARTNET

The museum warns that vibrations from construction could cause its delicate plaster walls to crumble...

Merger of Freeman’s and Hindman auction houses targets upper-middle market growth
© » THEARTNEWSPER

Merger of Freeman’s and Hindman auction houses targets upper-middle market growth Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Art market news Merger of Freeman’s and Hindman auction houses targets upper-middle market growth Firm formed by auction house pairing announces a New York saleroom and expansion plans abroad Tim Schneider 9 February 2024 Share The firm’s team, with chief executive Alyssa D...

Related works found in the same semantic group  
» see more

In Schubert recital series in Hong Kong, pianist Paul Lewis brings out the complex layering of composer’s musical ideas
© » SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

In Schubert recital series in Hong Kong, pianist Paul Lewis brings out the complex layering of composer’s musical ideas | South China Morning Post Advertisement Advertisement Performing arts in Hong Kong + FOLLOW Get more with my NEWS A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you Learn more Pianist Paul Lewis performs during the fourth and final part of the “Schubert’s 12 Piano Sonatas with Paul Lewis” concert series at the Grand Hall, Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, University of Hong Kong on January 28, 2024...

First Piano
© » KADIST

Katinka Bock

2008

Like with other works of the artist, with First Piano Katinka Bock tried to go against the rules of use of clay, that is, by forcing the material to the extreme, and transferring the resulting elements into a cubic shaped volume...

Martin Creed: Words and Music
© » KADIST

KADIST co-presents a multi-media evening with Martin Creed...

An Aleatory History of the Stick
© » KADIST

Michael Linares

2014

After two years of research in close conversation with anthropologists and archaeologists, Linares eventually enrolled in classes to study archeology—specifically the history of material artifacts...