Homage: Murcia exhibition text

to Mario

HOMAGE: MURCIA Kristoffer Arde単a

A conversation about Homage

Aimar Arriola: Homage is a project with a strong process-oriented dimension, that’s why maybe we can start the conversation talking about it all started. On the 10 of October 2008 you sent me an email from the Philippines telling me that the day before you developed a video with a musician (that resulted in the work Take Me Away from Here). A few days after you spoke of a second work, Unsung Lullaby, which also has a music-related significance, in this case the text of a lullaby. I remember telling you back, commenting that both experiences, especially Take Me Away from Here, in how music can be used as a resource in exploring notions of identity and you were encouraged to follow this path.

Kristoffer ArdeĂąa: The idea of tapping into music really came from you. If you hadn't called my attention, I never would have noticed that I was heading in this direction. That's when I realized that I wanted to consciously explore it.

Unsung Lullaby is a video where the lyrics of a well-known Filipino children's song Bahay Kubo, written on an unscented spiral incense, turns to ashes. In Take Me Away from Here, I asked Boyd (http://www.myspace.com/jersonboyd), a musician, to compose a song about how I grew up in my hometown Dumaguete.

I never thought of venturing into music, hell, I never thought of making videos. I simply explore possibilities when they present themselves to me.

Take Me Away from Here video performance 4:59 minutes Edition of 5 / 2AP / 1EP Produced by the Madrid City Arts Council Matadero Ayuda a la Movilidad Internacional 2008

Unsung Lullaby video performance 22:15 minutes Edition of 5 / 2AP / 1EP Produced by the Madrid City Arts Council Matadero Ayuda a la Movilidad Internacional 2008

A A: Homage nor Take Me Away from Here are in reality your firrst incursion into music.

I remember when we met each other in 2007 and we had an interesting conversation about your project Please Mr. DJ Play my Song, in which music served as a vehicle to articulate a collective experience, an aspect, that has been is in some way present in Homage.

K A: That was my response to the invitation I received to create a project in context of La Noche en Blanco in Madrid in 2007. Personally, I am cynical when it comes to contexts like these because art becomes a spectacle. You see artists creating huge lighting installations and public interventions that have an entertainment appeal. I thought, why not use spectacle as a format. If people already expect it, then provide it. So, I created the project Please Mr. DJ Play My Song. I asked my non-Spanish friends (and other people I didn't know) who were living in Madrid what kind of music they listened to and where I could buy it. Sometimes I get asked what kind of music we listen to in the Philippines. As innocent as the question seems, it can be annoying. I mean, you never ask a Scandinavian or German guy what kind of music he listens to because it is assumed that the pop music you listen to is what he listens to there. Nonetheless, you ask a Filipino, Indonesian or someone from an African country this naive question. In a globalized world, just like anybody else my grandparents, parents and I, we grew up I listening to American music and local pop just like anyone anywhere else. People who ask this question usually expect an exotic answer related to traditional music. We came up with a playlist of Chinese, Filipino, Peruvian, Indian and internationally popular artists. That night we set up a tent where a local radio DJ and a master of ceremonies hosted the show. As the night grew we had over 3,000 people around the booth. We asked the public to select a song in the playlist we created and dedicate it. The DJ then played the song and the emcee read the dedication out loud over the speakerphone. Then a local band of young Moroccan kids joined in and gave a live rap performance. People started dancing on the streets.

It was awesome!

For me a collective experience is inevitable when creating a project that involves participation. Once you put something out in public, a collective experience is expected. Even for someone who goes to the Prado Museum to see Goya's Pinturas Negras will have a collective experience with the rest of the people who have seen it before and after him. The painting serves as its catalyst. For me, a collective experience can also be a tool used in the artwork itself, such as the case with public interventions that have a performative and participative component. I do not expect to create a positive collective experience. There is no moral discourse imposed. I mean, I do not want to "heal the world" from its social disdain. If it creates a positive social output, then fantastic, but I think that artists should not be asked to make socially regenerative projects. The collective experience is an innate component as well as an expected result.

In Homage, the focus lies in the participation of musicians, with that said, the process warrants a collective experience already. The result, well, has not all been positive. Remember the time we approached a street musician in the Gothic neighborhood of Barcelona? He told us he wouldn't collaborate with us because in the past he has had bad experiences with involving similar activities wherein he felt he was just being used. Even though it wasn't a positive response, I think it is certainly a great response. What I am saying is that, ìcollective experienceî is a confusing term used to mean ìpositive-social-changing public responseî. This is not my aim.

Please Mr. DJ, Play My Song La noche en blanco / Madrid Produced by the Madrid City Arts Council 2007

A A: Homage is a project about politics and memory based on a specific cultural symbol, the Philippine national anthem. When you it proposed to me, I was interested above all, its capacity to take on, based on music as a resource, non-visible forms of transmission and cultural translation. What were your initial intentions for the project?

K A: As I mentioned, I never thought of delving into music. The video-performance Take Me Away from Here is the precursor to Homage. As a theme, a lot of visual artists explore the formal structure of music itself, mainly because they have a music-related background, they might be musicians themselves or they might move within this circle. My situation is different. I do not know a thing about music; besides, I have no interest in being a musician. Much like the rest of us, I only enjoy listening to it. I am a complete outsider to this world.

I want to stress out that Homage experiments, first and foremost, with the idea of creating platforms.

I don't think it is themes. I have come through a myriad of into a culture that

necessary to limit aesthetic investigation in terms of genre, formats and to this understanding because of how I was raised. Creativity was expressed non-conventional ways that fosters a holistic approach. Also, I was born has a complex oral tradition.

Then came a time when I discovered the writings of Michel Foucault. I was especially interested in his heterotopia. Imagine how liberating this philosophy applies to someone like me who comes from a totally different creative context. On another note, the need of experimenting with the concept of platforms also had a practical starting point: having limited financial resources.

As the clichĂˆ goes, necessity is the mother of invention.

A A:

K A: Yes.

Well, getting back to my question, we could say that your initial intention with Homage was to create a platform, in which all the different components and agents could possibly interact.

Platforms interest me because it has an amoeba structure. It is permeable, malleable and does not necessarily concern itself with linear narrative structures. It extends and contracts. Homage explores this model through different layers of complexities underlined in its theme, genre and different formats. For me, the rhizome model is insufficient because it only allows the development of interactivity at intersections. It is important to go beyond the relationship between signified and signifier.

Albeit post-structuralist's concern in dissolving the hierarchy between entities; I think there is nonetheless a noble pursuit, a search for an ideal relationship. In the amoeba model that I propose, this may or may not be the case. For instance, the pursuit of participation in most publicinteractive-performative art practices are, by nature, created with utopic intentions that still try to reach out to the masses because it is concerned with art being a social tool for everyone's betterment. I think this should not always be the case. It doesn't matter if the participant/collaborator gets anything "good" out of the experience. I'd liken this to the pictorial equivalent of creating a "pleasing" painting. This is not the artist's responsibility anymore. It is solely a matter of transmission and translation. Thus, again, dissolving the hierarchy. A platform does not necessarily have an initially defined structure because it is innate in a given situation. It will figure itself out, so to speak.

Homage has the capacity to tackle, through music, non-visible forms of cultural transmission and translations not only based on its aesthetic concern, but as a theme, this is evident because it is not structured to be didactic. The starting point of this project is the Philippine national anthem Lupang Hinirang. Like an existing brick wall, the project is concerned with transforming it into a livable structure that expands, gets torn-down and gets rebuilt again, depending on the people participating in its construction (or its destruction). I merely serve as its instigator so that the process starts. It is a continuous work-in-progress.

I mentioned before in a previous interview, for me a theme is like a plot of a story. It gives narrative interest but I am not theme-focused. I use it as a tool and not an investigative goal. Mine are generally focused on issues about identity and memory because they are related to the immediate situations that I live in at the moment the projects were initiated.

A A: It seems pertinent that you indicate your interest in the structural quality because I think that what really operates in your work is a certain insistent exploration of these structures through which significance is produced within a culture, and here, it is interesting to see how the theme functions as a catalyst, almost as a pretext, not a constituent. K A: The theme in this project invites you to participate, to debate it, to share with me and everybody else your reaction to it. It is not imposed upon. It's like the video of Two Girls, One Cup. What is interesting is how, in Youtube, people have made videos of people reacting to this nasty video.

Another example, how many times have you ever been in a situation wherein you needed to know the meaning of an unfamiliar word, then instead of going to the library, asking around, you simply click on Google search, Wikipedia or get into a chat forum online and pop comes the answer you were looking for. Aside from the ease, the important thing is, this allows you to formulate your own hypothesis with regards to the information you needed. The translation and transmission of knowledge, with the tools that are provided nowadays is not structurally linear. Choices create permeable situations.

You create your own options; you try out various possibilities.

In the end, we have a compilation of different videoperformances. We do not ask a lot from the musicians, it does not take much of their time and we come up with a fresh output all the time because the video-performance is not rehearsed.

Also, in Homage, for me it is not necessary that the viewer understand that these are musical reactions to the anthem.

I also do not expect the viewer to watch entire videos, so if they only see it for 5-10 seconds, then be it. You can enter and leave the video experience at any given moment.

Reception does not fall under the responsibility of the artist nor artwork. Traditional cinematographic narratives and time do not nurture this series of videos. It is structurally nonlinear. As I had mentioned before, the project is not didactic.

It's like surfing in Youtube, if a clip catches your attention you watch it and if you want to learn more you find ways to enrich yourself and get what you need, if not, you simply browse other ones.

In the end, the lyrics of the national anthem looses it value.

Both its cultural and political weight is redefined. It evolves. It is claimed by others and transformed into something totally different. The manner in which the musicians interpret the lyrics is inevitable (hip hop, rap, funk, punk, goth, rock, grunge, etc). The cultural context, in this case played within the geographical framework of Spain, adds to this redefinition. If this project would be done in 20 years, or 30 years ago, or if it were done in Germany or the USA, it would be a totally different context. We go beyond context, by going through context.

A A: Consequently, in the search for identity and how it has the capacity to unity people, a hymn is not only a musical exhaltation of national sentiment but as an enblem of collectiveness. Specifically, in the case of the Philippines, it is interesting to know the different forms, uses and receptions throughout its evolution in time, how it has become a product of cultural translation in itself.

K A: Julian Felipe originally composed the music of the hymn in 1898. The Spanish lyrics from the Spanish poem Filipinas by Jose Palma were added the year after. It was adopted as our national anthem during the first Independence Day celebration when colonial rule of the Spaniards ended.

Filipinas (1899) Tierra adorada hija del sol de Oriente, su fuego ardiente en ti latiendo est·. °Tierra de amores! del heroÌsmo cuna, los invasores no te hollar·n jam·s.

En tu azul cielo, en tus auras, en tus montes y en tu mar esplende y late el poema de tu amada libertad.

Tu pabellÛn, que en las lides la victoria iluminÛ, no ver· nunca apagados sus estrellas ni su sol.

Tierra de dichas, de sol y amores, en tu regazo dulce es vivir; es una gloria para tus hijos, cuando te ofenden, por ti morir Then during the 20s at the time of the American colonial rule, the use of the any national symbol was prohibited and they changed the lyrics to English. This task was given to a famous poet at that time, Paz Marquez Benitez whose translation was entitled Philippine Hymn.

Philippine Hymn (1938) Land of the morning, Child of the sun returning, With fervor burning, Thee do our souls adore.

Land dear and holy, Cradle of noble heroes, Ne'er shall invaders Trample thy sacred shore.

Ever within thy skies and through thy clouds And o'er thy hills and sea, Do we behold the radiance, feel and throb, Of glorious liberty.

Thy banner, dear to all our hearts, Its sun and stars alight, O never shall its shining field Be dimmed by tyrant's might!

Beautiful land of love, o land of light, In thine embrace 'tis rapture to lie, But it is glory ever, when thou art wronged, For us, thy sons to suffer and die.

The translation of the hymn into Tagalog, the language spoken in Manila and most northern regions of the Philippines, started to appear in the 40s. Diwa ng Bayan (Spirit of the Country) was sung during the Japanese imperial rule.

Diwa ng Bayan (1943) Lupang mapalad, Na mutya ng silangan; Bayang kasuyo, Ng sangkalikasan.

Buhay at yaman, Ng kapilipinuhan; Kuha't bawi, Sa banyagang kamay.

Sa iyong langit, bundok, batis, dagat na pinalupig; Nailibing na ng karimlan, Ng kahapong pagtitiis.

Sakit at luha, hirap, Susa at sumpa sa pagaamis; ay wala nang lahat at naligtas, Sa ibig maglupit.

Hayo't magdiwang lahi kong minamahal, Iyong watawat ang siyang tanglaw; At kung sakaling ikaw ay muling pagbantaan, Aming bangkay ang siyang hahadlang.

Then from 1948 to 1956, the lyrics changed to O Sintang Lupa (Beloved Land) composed by Julian Cruz Balmaceda, Ildefonso Santos and by Francisco Caballo.

O Sintang Lupa (1948) O Sintang Lupa, Perlas ng Silanganan; Diwang apoy kang Sa araw nagmula.

Lupang magiliw, Pugad ng kagitingan, Sa manlulupig Di ka papaslang.

Sa iyong langit, simoy, parang.

Dagat at kabundukan, Laganap ang tibok ng puso Sa paglayang walang hanggan.

Sagisag ng watawat mong mahal Ningning at tagumpay; Araw't bituin niyang maalab Ang s'yang lagi naming tanglaw.

Sa iyong lupa ng ligaya't pagsinta, Tamis mabuhay na yakap mo, Datapwa't langit ding kung ikaw ay apihin Ay mamatay ng dahil sa 'yo.

Finally, during the regime of President Ramon Magsaysay the hymn was once again revised and translated into the Pilipino language, the new artificial language that is made up mainly of Tagalog words with other words in other languages spoken in the archipelago. Then again in the 60s it was again revised, this time by Felipe Padilla de Leon, who wrote Lupang Hinirang. A new national law, the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, also known as Republic Act No. 8491 was established in 1998 and recognized it as the official anthem, but not the anterior versions in English and Spanish.

Lupang Hinirang Bayang magiliw, Perlas ng Silanganan Alab ng puso, Sa Dibdib mo'y buhay.

Lupang Hinirang, Duyan ka ng magiting, Sa manlulupig, Di ka pasisiil.

Sa dagat at bundok, Sa simoy at sa langit mong bughaw, May dilag ang tula, At awit sa paglayang minamahal.

Ang kislap ng watawat mo'y Tagumpay na nagniningning, Ang bituin at araw niya, Kailan pa ma'y di magdidilim, Lupa ng araw ng luwalhati't pagsinta, Buhay ay langit sa piling mo, Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi, Ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo.

One of the reasons why I also wanted to make use of the Philippine national anthem as the starting point of this project is because of its usage restrictions. For example, it can only be musically played according to the initial composition made by Julian Felipe. That means to say, it can only even be played on the piano or a brass band because these were the only versions he made. Also, it should always be sung in our national language regardless if itĂ­s sung outside the Philippines in limited and officially acceptable events. So, legally, the anthem is protected as a national living treasure.

For me the anthem symbolizes post-colonialism in the Philippines. It becomes a cultural dogma to people who have historically suffered from the ravages of foreign rule. Growing up in a country like mine, you are born into a place with insecurity issues when it comes to its identity. The Philippines is like someone who (after different waves of colonial rule) got married and divorced four times. She is still trying to figure out who she was and is. This post-colonial home environment has lead to the creation of national symbols: national flower, national hero, national bird, etc.

Then came our national language, Filipino, formerly known as Pilipino which is really an artificial language composed mainly of Tagalog words and sprinkled with some words from the other languages in the country. In visual arts and music the thematic and material concern evolved around the indigenous. They started to use sawdust, beads, jute fiber, bamboo woven into Filipino mythology, symbols and superstitions and there was even a resurgence of Alibata, the pre-Spanish way of writing.

When a "post-colonial baby" (like me) suddenly finds himself in Europe and in the US where the context is so different, he learns that nobody really gives a shit about these insecurities. The rest of the world has its own concerns. Besides, post-colonial theory propagates cultural specificity permitting its evaluation only within its limits. In contemporary society where technology is questioning the limitations of cultural specificity, this is not enough. Nowadays, frontiers are economic and political constructions; history and culture act only as its material support. More and more, identity and its complexities are rooted in personal ambivalence. One can claim who he is, not necessarily where he comes from, where he is, nor where he will be. How does one evolve?

So, in a way, the anthem is like an autobiographical metaphor for me. In this project I wanted to express the process that I have just articulated, to question the inadequacies of post-modernism (synonymous to post-colonialism) affect the Philippines. Rather than dissect the issue from the underpinnings of its structure, in Homage, it is not enough to merely subject the anthem to analysis and criticism. Far from its original essence, when the musician reacts to it, he transforms it, makes it his It evolves into something totally different. My argument is not to come up with a conclusion but to merely exasperate the process of cultural translation and transmission.

A A: With regards to how the project developed, when it started Homage proceeded in two directions. The first steps we took were in Barcelona working with musicians in the street, although the project really took off when I invited you to develop this project specifically in Bilbao...

K A: Indeed, I remember last year when we were both in Barcelona with the video camera, tripod and the photo camera hunting for street musicians. It was exciting. We didn't know what would happen. The process continued in Madrid with the opportunity to collaborate with DJ K-NO for the exhibition in Espacio Abisal. It was the first time we were able to work with a musician who we could sit with and explain the methodology of the project with ease. This resulted in a series of videos where he rapped about his life as a recent immigrant in Spain, being unemployed and sleeping from house to house of friends and relatives, his friend in jail, his loneliness, how he misses his mother, about the similarities between Colombia and the Philippines and even rapped about the pretty woman that walked pass the video camera while we were taping. The methodology adopts itself to the situation. In Murcia we could lean on the logistical support of La Conservera and its team.

Homage: DJ-KNO 2009

A A: In the framework of La Conservera’s invitation, you have worked with local musicians in the region of Murcia. How was the collaborative process with the participants?

K A: It has been one surprise after another. In Murcia I have been able to collaborate with different professional musicians coming from different genres: pop, folk, punk, jazz, rock, etc. Most of them initially chose to read the lyrics of the 1899 Filipinas version by Jose Palma, well, naturally because we are in Spain and the lyrics are in Spanish. The jazz group Caro Ceice opted for me to read them the Filipino version Lupang Hinirang because they were interested in how the words sounded instead of what they meant. AndrÈs MartÌn was probably the one who had a hard time because as a disk jockey he is used to interpreting other songs instead of composing them. I told him that for the video-performance he could not do this. In the end he dabbled with his computer and ended up creating an entirely new electronic-based song entitled Friends Forever. Jesus Cutillas shared with me his views on being against the idea of an anthem. This lead to the video entitled Tantos Muertos (Too Many Dead) recorded in his kids' playroom inside their home in the outskirts. The rock band Vare Brava made an upbeat song. Ra˙l Frutos improvised using a musical instrument of his creation. Angel Pop was ecstatic and ended up throwing his guitar on the floor. Imagine that!

The most unexpected surprise was the performance created by the OrfeÛn Murciano Fern·ndo Caballero. I really didn't know how it would turn out but in the end, with the help of their director, Margarita, they came up with something very unique. I dunno how to explain it, everybody should just watch the video and see for themselves.

I would also like to mention that there is one thing I regret. I wasn't able to make a video with Taray, a group of folk musicians. We were recording the performance on video but unfortunately I had some technical problems with the film. Our schedules were in conflict and we couldn't redo another shoot. It is a pity. They composed an entire song just for the project.

These are just a few of the anecdotes that have happened in the process of making this project.

A A: On one side, this is the first time that you’ve had the opportunity to present more than one videoperformance, what focus have you given the exhibition space? The question of its reception is rooted in the gestation of Homage. I remember that initially you thought that it could even be a project that could circulate uniquely on the Internet, although finally there has been more than one way of showing them...

K A: Homage is in constant flux, always transforming itself into something different, incorporating new formats and new forms of collaborations.

In Murcia the project headed towards a new direction.

Before anything else, I wanted to point out the importance of Mario Miravalles ÂĄbalos ( HYPERLINK "http://mariomiravalles.com" http://mariomiravalles.com). He is an economist, a graphic designer, an illustrator, photographer and he also makes videos. On top of that, you could say he is an expert in social networking sites found in the Internet.

New ideas and formats are being created because of our conversations. He has taught me how the structural framework of creating a platform is partly related to concepts that are being used in marketing strategies and Internet Meme phenomenon. As an avid online surfer of videos, he constantly shares with me the trendiest, funniest and most absurd. This interaction with him has partly inspired the aesthetic parameter of the videos in Homage.

It is not about copying a look, but exploring how the conditions of a given situation can result to a certain aesthetic output. When it comes to video production, I am concerned at how digital video technology is molded by the way Internet users play with visual elements or how certain performative issues or perhaps, the context of the place and time of shooting the video takes control over the medium itself. It is interesting how one's limited technical knowledge can lead to experimental ways of using it.

For Homage: Murcia, I have collaborated with Mario in creating the cover of the publication and DVD. It will be used from now on as the logo for the whole project. I have asked him to interpret the music that has been created based on the anthem. The great thing about working with him in this project is that, he is not merely concerned with the surface value of design but is more interested in the conceptual process itself. He will also be responsible in designing individual posters of each of the videoperformances created by the musicians.

Why should Homage be developed in Murcia? The most important answer is simply because it has a strong community of musicians that can be tapped into. We are really lucky to have Pablo Lag and Isabel Durante to coordinate the whole process because they know their way around this community. They are integrated in it. They were even part of a band themselves. You can imagine my initial shock when they told me they could coordinate up to 80 musicians to participate and in such short notice! They know each other, collaborate with each other and if an outsider like me, who proposes an activity comes in, they are very supportive. For me, Homage really took off because of two key elements: coordination and participation. The project is intended to be site-specific. It is in its nature to be such.

It warrants collaboration with the local community, specifically, with musicians living in the region.

This is the first time that the project has been given varied formats to experiment with.

Homage logo Mario Miravalles Ă balos Copyright of the author 2010

LIST OF VIDEOS AndrÈs MartÌn "FRIENDS FOREVER" (Take 1) 7:12 minutes "FRIENDS FOREVER" (Take 2) 5:49 minutes "FRIENDS FOREVER" (Take 3) 5:12 minutes Angel Pop "ME JODISTE "ME JODISTE "ME JODISTE "ME JODISTE Caro "TÚ" "TÚ" "TÚ" "TÚ" "TÚ"

Ceice (Take (Take (Take (Take (Take

BIEN" BIEN" BIEN" BIEN" 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

(Take (Take (Take (Take

4:53 3:25 2:59 2:51 9:24

1) 2) 3) 4)

2:31 1:52 1:31 1:29

minutes minutes minutes minutes

minutes minutes minutes minutes minutes

Ginger Lynss "ECHO DE MENOS MI CONCUBINA FILIPINA" 10:40 minutes "MANILA" 3:39 minutes "PERDÍ MI AMOR EN FILIPINAS" 9:01 minutes "SA DAGAT AT BUNDOK" 9:17 minutes Jesus Cutillas "TANTOS MUERTOS" 3:26 minutes JoaquÌn Leal "JOAQUIN'S GUITAR SESSION" (Take 1) 3:03 minutes "JOAQUIN'S GUITAR SESSION" (Take 2) 4:55 minutes "JOAQUIN'S GUITAR SESSION" (Take 3) 9:15 minutes Laura More "VICTORIA" "VICTORIA" "VICTORIA" "VICTORIA" "VICTORIA" "VICTORIA"

(Take (Take (Take (Take (Take (Take

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

5:29 2:42 2:44 3:23 4:46 2:57

minutes minutes minutes minutes minutes minutes

Los Últimos BaÒistas "TIERRA Y MAR" (First Version) 6:14 minutes "TIERRA Y MAR" (Second Version) 8:29 minutes Orfeón Murciano Fern·ndez Cabellero "ONE VOICE" 19:02 minutes Raúl Frutos "INSTRUMENTAL "INSTRUMENTAL "INSTRUMENTAL "INSTRUMENTAL

IMPROVISATION" IMPROVISATION" IMPROVISATION" IMPROVISATION"

(Take (Take (Take (Take

Suansi "COULD IT BE" 2:32 minutes "FALLEN" 1:57 minutes "WHERE DID I BELONG" 2:37 minutes Varry Brava "PARAPAPARA" "PARAPAPARA" "PARAPAPARA" "PARAPAPARA" "PARAPAPARA" "PARAPAPARA" "PARAPAPARA" "PARAPAPARA" "PARAPAPARA"

(Take (Take (Take (Take (Take (Take (Take (Take (Take

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9)

6:55 minutes 2:50 minutes 5:48minutes 2:36 minutes 2:42 minutes 1:45 minutes 4:16 minutes 4:07 minutes 4:13 minutes

1) 2) 3) 4)

5:23 2:23 2:58 2:16

minutes minutes minutes minutes

This is the first time that the project has been given varied formats to experiment with.

First, a limited number of DVDs with low-resolution videos made in collaboration with the musicians in Murcia have been edited.

Secondly, instead of the typical exhibition catalogue, this DVD pack comes with this book by which this conversation is being read right now. This is the first time we have really discussed the project in detail.

View of the exhibition La Conservera Centro de Arte Contemporรกneo Murcia, Spain

Thirdly, an exhibition space is provided. This project can adapt to various presentation formats. It can be shown as a one-time video projection in an audiovisual room, on the monitor in the institution's cafeteria or other unexplored ways. For this project in La Conservera, we are provided with a huge exhibition space where the videos will be projected. People in CeutĂŒ and in different places in Murcia have contributed chairs and sofas that have been installed in the exhibition space so that the public can be able to watch the screen in comfort.

This is an important thing I want to stress out.

I have reiterated various times to the team involved in designing the space that I wanted comfort to be the key element to consider in watching the video. Eventually the public will rearrange the chairs according to their viewing pleasure, just like being at home when we watch the football match with our friends in the living room.

Then finally, an online streaming will also be presented in the institution's website for those who cannot come to the see the show, nor get their hands on the DVD, nor come and hear the musicians perform live.

Even though the exhibition will end in La Conservera, the project is going to expand again into various formats in the future. All the songs created by the musicians will be interpreted by persons who will make textile banners that represent how they react to the music they've listened to. I am also planning to make various performative-sculptures.

In the near future, Homage will go to different cities in different countries and collaborating with local musicians in these places.