Alex Reynolds

Te oímos beber

From May 31 to June 1, 2011. Unlocated project. BCN Producció'11

Alex Reynolds (Bilbao, 1978). Lives and works between Barcelona and London. Currently taking an MFA in Art Practice at Goldsmiths University, London, whilst taking part in the IASPIS artist-in-residence programme in Stockholm. Has presented solo and collective shows, both in Catalonia and at La Casa Encendida in Madrid, the Instituto Cervantes in Stockholm and video festivals, including the International Meetings at the Jeu de Paume in Paris and MNCARS in Madrid. Also forms part of the group Vena (Por la) with Marc Vives and Rubén Grilo.

"Te oímos beber" [We Hear You Drinking], performance (2011).
Alex Reynolds' piece seeks to dissect cinematographic codes through several performative strategies. This approach enables Reynolds to propel the viewer towards a cinematographic experience of reality, deploying different fictionalising devices to alter perceptions of the everyday environment. In this way, the artist's works operate as a two-fold framework for (con)fusion and analysis of the spectacle and performative categories.
We can find pioneering forays into the idea of using filmic structures in apparently inappropriate spaces in such earlier works as Welcome, Three, and Una chica, un coche, una pistola. For example, in Welcome Reynolds appropriates a true event that took place near the place where he staged the performance that forms the work, using an actor and sound to blur the limits between what is presented and what is represented.

In other works, such as Marta and Clara (2010), Reynolds provided, through earphones, audio tracks in which an actor narrated, in first person, the scene that the viewers should see, whilst a second voice gave camera directions relating to the real exhibition space. This generates an ambiguity between the first-person experience and the distance that fiction creates. In this way, Reynolds engages the viewer in the work of fabricating the images that accompany the story by using their eyes as a camera.

On this occasion, the work "Te oímos beber", produced by BCN Producció and based on a short story by H.G. Wells, invites viewers to follow a route through different spaces in the city of Barcelona. Blurring the separation between actor and audience and the distance between spectator and character, Reynolds explores the idea of making a "live film" with the help only of actors, who provide the keys to the development of the work.

Like Reynolds' earlier projects, "Te oímos beber" is a work for a single spectator at each session. The sessions will take place from May 31 to June 1. Spectators are invited to book their place by writing to an email address that will be announced on April 15 on the blog www.teoimosbeber.wordpress.com. Places are limited and will be allotted by order of reception of requests.

Thanks:
Raquel Aranda, Benito Cortijo, Marta Frauca, Rubén Grilo, Julia Gutiérrez, Roland Macdonald, Martí Manen, Marc Vives.

 

Col·laboradors

Cafè Schilling

El Periódico