Sub Rosa

Sub Rosa is an audiovisual installation composed of a 12-hour multi-channel film (between 2 and 12 screens depending on the exhibition space), and a live generative sound system. The film, shot in Madrid on the site of a Spanish fascism monument, shows teenagers filmed in slow motion as daylight fades and the sky takes on the colours of sunset. The film was shot in a single location, the Arco de la Victoria, it required more than three years of shooting and 250 hours of video rushes. The musical piece is produced by a music rack system both analogue and digital. Presented as a sound sculpture, it composes a generative soundtrack that evolves with time.

The Arco de la Victoria is a monument located in the northwestern part of Madrid. It was built in the 1950s at the request of Francisco Franco to commemorate his victory over the Republican troops during the Spanish Civil War. The arch is over 40 metres high and is still a symbol of Spanish fascism. Located outside the usual tourist areas, in the middle of a multi-lane roundabout on the A6 highway, it has long been one of the city’s forgotten monuments. It is now more of a ruin than a historical landmark. And like many of the city’s public squares, it is a meeting point for teenagers. The work focuses on the teenagers although the monument is visible in fragments and flows. The place is like a concrete island in the sense of the writer JG Ballard ; it is inhabited by these teenagers who seem to be suspended in time.

Sub Rosa has received support from Académie de France in Madrid - Casa Velázquez, Fondation des Artistes, Centre national des arts plastiques, C/O Berlin.


Extract : vimeo.com/376551346