The Shadow Machine
(2013-16)
The Shadow Machine (La Maquina de Sombras) is a historical fictional reconstruction of families, from the compilation of slides donated by strangers. All of them registered in a period from 1957 to 1995, taken in different parts of the world. The total number of slides collected exceeds 8000 the copies, of which 240 are selected.
During these long periods of time we can see how families change their physical and architectural, technological and socio-political landscape. This changes in the physical and imaginary landscape is explained by the historical and geographical period in which the photographs are inscribed. Some examples are; (1982), New York (1984), Mexico D.F (1978), Paraguay (1978), Buenos Aires (1971), Puerto Montt (1987).
The Shadow Machine makes use of 3 slide projectors, the image exchange is activated by the use of presence sensors that react to contact with a laser. They activate a sequence in the selection of the slides that maintain a conceptual and formal relationship between the images, referring to the historical and political reality lived in the periods in which they are registered.
On one side of the installation, one of the projection artifacts emits a series of images that are distorted and amplified, thanks to a tunnel of superimposed semi-transparent fabrics; These are enlarged proportionally to the projection of the image, which disappears as the distance from the point of emission increases. The other two projectors face two equally translucent contiguous fabrics, which trap the image at its focal point, to let the rest of the light that bounces off the wall, defocused, producing a light game of shade and color.
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