QUALIA TEASER - Prelude NYC Festival at JCTC

"Qualia" is an immersive video and sound installation about our longing for connection to nature, through consciousness, awareness, and agency.
Directed by Laia Cabrera & Isabelle Duverger
Original Music composed & arranged by Nana Simopoulos | Songs "I'm not here" and "For me now" by Erica Glyn
Featuring performing artist Catherine Correa
​
Qualia: the properties of experience, and experiences, referred to as being phenomenally conscious
“Qualia” is a sensory journey where the line is blurred between the physical and the digital world, between the real and the imaginary. The gaze is a visual poem, gravitational Qualia: anxiety shaped into Surrealism, mythology, a nightmare turned fantasy, spontaneous solidarity, feelings of solitude, suspension, an embrace, the beginning of a smile, a hand falling and rising again, time and the fates symbolizing the interconnectedness of the past, present, and future in the tapestry of life.
Conceived as an immersive projection mapping design using cinematographic language and interactive dramaturgy, “Qualia” explores concepts of mental states, symbolism, and hope, creating a story that unfolds across a series of immersive scenarios drawing from the body, faces, urban patterns, nature and remains of activity. Underneath these mirrored imageries lie many stories about limits, freedom and self-perception.
​
Presented at Jersey City Theater Center October 13-15, 2023 as part of JCAST 2023 and Prelude Festival 2023 - Segal Center CUNY
​
“Qualia - You Matter to Me” is a site-specific videoart installation conceived as a visual poem to Nature. Through a sequence of five segments titled “Qualia”, “You”, “Matter”, “To”, and “Me”, we invite the audience to embark on an emotional journey, punctuated with poems introducing each of them.
The first segment is a definition of “Qualia” defines the novelty of experience, exploring the essence of this new encounter. “You” delves into the otherness and the consuming preoccupation with time, disconnected from nature. The following segment, “Matter”, is a look into the surrounding, from the micro to the macro, uncovering recurring patterns and the absence of linearity. “To” captures the essence of reaching out, our longing for connections and our humanity. “Me” concludes our journey by reflecting on our inevitable bond with nature. This journey empowers us to elevate our sense of the present, enabling the release of our emotions. You matter to me.
To deconstruct time, we use the symbolism of the fates and Clotho, the beginning, the inception of life, and the past, the origins, setting the foundation for the intricate design of existence, Lachesis embodying the unfolding present, the moments that are lived and experienced, the choices made, and the paths taken, and finally Atropos, representing the future, the culmination of the journey. Together, the three sisters personify the cycle of life, interconnectedness, and the continuous flow of time. We emphasize the inseparability of the past, present, and future, weaving the intricate fabric of our humanity. The Three Fates embody the eternal and unyielding force that guides the passage of time.
An ordinary tableau becomes a dreamscape, the brain is an airport, with its constant activity and connections. The mind is a magician, the body is the self, giving audience an alternative experience where they are no longer passive spectators and actively enter the very heart of the piece. Here, 'universal time' coexists with an inner perception of time - a back door - an intimate association with our sense of personal identity and the unshakable condition that the future is still open to our chosen actions.
​
This site-specific immersive experience - environmental video sculpture - is designed as a wide wall with smaller streams intricately spread across, creating video spaces that seamlessly integrate into diverse environments. Using the concept of ideasthesia as a metaphorical bridge, we intertwine rational abstractions, stimulating a dynamic dialogue among film streams.
This approach not only extends the installation's adaptability to different spaces but also transcends conventional idea of time, inviting the audience into a journey that evolves beyond physical constraints, enveloping them in a multifaceted and transformative visual narrative.
The piece has a musical score composed by two musicians, Nana Simopoulos and Erica Glyn. The music and the visual are in constant dialogue and most of the music composition was created specifically for the visuals. The musical journey guides the emotional journey into an intentional crescendo, leaving the audience is a suspension which intends to be the question mark, the leap into the unknown.
With the support of the Individual Artist Fellowship program provided by the Jersey City Arts Council and the Jersey City Arts & Culture Trust Fund, and the Jersey City Theater Center. Produced by Laia Cabrera & Co.

[@conchitaibarspla7820]

Guapisimo🔥🔥🔥🔥