to Mario

HOMAGE: MURCIAKristoffer Ardeña

A conversation about Homage

Aimar Arriola:Homage is a project with a strong process-orienteddimension, that’s why maybe we can start theconversation talking about it all started. On the10 of October 2008 you sent me an email from thePhilippines telling me that the day before youdeveloped a video with a musician (that resulted inthe work Take Me Away from Here). A few days afteryou spoke of a second work, Unsung Lullaby, whichalso has a music-related significance, in this casethe text of a lullaby. I remember telling you back,commenting that both experiences, especially TakeMe Away from Here, in how music can be used as aresource in exploring notions of identity and youwere encouraged to follow this path.

Kristoffer Ardeña:The idea of tapping into music reallycame from you. If you hadn't calledmy attention, I never would havenoticed that I was heading in thisdirection. That's when I realizedthat I wanted to consciously exploreit.

Unsung Lullaby is a video where thelyrics of a well-known Filipinochildren's song Bahay Kubo, writtenon an unscented spiral incense, turnsto ashes. In Take Me Away from Here,I asked Boyd(http://www.myspace.com/jersonboyd),a musician, to compose a song abouthow I grew up in my hometown Dumaguete.

I never thought of venturing intomusic, hell, I never thought of makingvideos. I simply explore possibilitieswhen they present themselves to me.

Take Me Away from Herevideo performance4:59 minutesEdition of 5 / 2AP / 1EPProduced by the Madrid City Arts CouncilMatadero Ayuda a la Movilidad Internacional2008

Unsung Lullabyvideo performance22:15 minutesEdition of 5 / 2AP / 1EPProduced by the Madrid City Arts CouncilMatadero Ayuda a la Movilidad Internacional2008

A A:

Homage nor Take Me Away from Here are inreality your firrst incursion into music.I remember when we met each other in 2007and we had an interesting conversationabout your project Please Mr. DJ Play mySong, in which music served as a vehicleto articulate a collective experience,an aspect, that has been is in some waypresent in Homage.

K A:That was my response to the invitation I received to create a project incontext of La Noche en Blanco in Madrid in 2007. Personally, I am cynicalwhen it comes to contexts like these because art becomes a spectacle. Yousee artists creating huge lighting installations and public interventionsthat have an entertainment appeal. I thought, why not use spectacle as aformat. If people already expect it, then provide it. So, I created theproject Please Mr. DJ Play My Song. I asked my non-Spanish friends (andother people I didn't know) who were living in Madrid what kind of musicthey listened to and where I could buy it. Sometimes I get asked what kindof 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 whatkind of music he listens to because it is assumed that the pop music youlisten to is what he listens to there. Nonetheless, you ask a Filipino,Indonesian or someone from an African country this naive question. In aglobalized world, just like anybody else my grandparents, parents and I,we grew up I listening to American music and local pop just like anyoneanywhere else. People who ask this question usually expect an exotic answerrelated to traditional music. We came up with a playlist of Chinese,Filipino, Peruvian, Indian and internationally popular artists. That nightwe set up a tent where a local radio DJ and a master of ceremonies hostedthe show. As the night grew we had over 3,000 people around the booth. Weasked the public to select a song in the playlist we created and dedicateit. The DJ then played the song and the emcee read the dedication out loudover the speakerphone. Then a local band of young Moroccan kids joined inand 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 thatinvolves participation. Once you put something out in public, a collectiveexperience is expected. Even for someone who goes to the Prado Museum tosee Goya's Pinturas Negras will have a collective experience with the restof the people who have seen it before and after him. The painting servesas its catalyst. For me, a collective experience can also be a tool usedin the artwork itself, such as the case with public interventions that havea performative and participative component. I do not expect to create apositive collective experience. There is no moral discourse imposed. Imean, I do not want to "heal the world" from its social disdain. If itcreates a positive social output, then fantastic, but I think that artistsshould not be asked to make socially regenerative projects. The collectiveexperience is an innate component as well as an expected result.

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

Please Mr. DJ, Play My SongLa noche en blanco / MadridProduced by the Madrid City Arts Council2007

A A:

Homage is a project about politics and memory basedon a specific cultural symbol, the Philippinenational anthem. When you it proposed to me, I wasinterested above all, its capacity to take on,based on music as a resource, non-visible formsof transmission and cultural translation. What wereyour initial intentions for the project?K A:As I mentioned, I never thought of delving into music. The video-performance Take Me Away fromHere is the precursor to Homage. As a theme, a lot of visual artists explore the formal structureof music itself, mainly because they have a music-related background, they might be musiciansthemselves or they might move within this circle. My situation is different. I do not know athing 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 creatingplatforms.

I don't think it is necessary to limit aesthetic investigation in terms of genre, formats andthemes. I have come to this understanding because of how I was raised. Creativity was expressedthrough a myriad of non-conventional ways that fosters a holistic approach. Also, I was borninto a culture that has a complex oral tradition.

Then came a time when I discovered the writings of Michel Foucault. I was especially interestedin his heterotopia. Imagine how liberating this philosophy applies to someone like me who comesfrom a totally different creative context. On another note, the need of experimenting with theconcept of platforms also had a practical starting point: having limited financial resources.As the clichÈ goes, necessity is the mother of invention.

A A:

Well, getting back to my question, we couldsay that your initial intention with Homagewas to create a platform, in which all thedifferent components and agents could possiblyinteract.

K A:

Yes.

Platforms interest me because it has an amoeba structure. It is permeable,malleable and does not necessarily concern itself with linear narrativestructures. It extends and contracts. Homage explores this model throughdifferent layers of complexities underlined in its theme, genre anddifferent formats. For me, the rhizome model is insufficient because itonly allows the development of interactivity at intersections. It isimportant to go beyond the relationship between signified and signifier.Albeit post-structuralist's concern in dissolving the hierarchy betweenentities; I think there is nonetheless a noble pursuit, a search for anideal relationship. In the amoeba model that I propose, this may or maynot be the case. For instance, the pursuit of participation in most public-interactive-performative art practices are, by nature, created with utopicintentions that still try to reach out to the masses because it is concernedwith art being a social tool for everyone's betterment. I think thisshould not always be the case. It doesn't matter if the participant/collaboratorgets anything "good" out of the experience. I'd liken this to the pictorialequivalent of creating a "pleasing" painting. This is not the artist'sresponsibility anymore. It is solely a matter of transmission andtranslation. Thus, again, dissolving the hierarchy. A platform does notnecessarily have an initially defined structure because it is innate ina given situation. It will figure itself out, so to speak.

Homage has the capacity to tackle, through music, non-visible forms ofcultural transmission and translations not only based on its aestheticconcern, but as a theme, this is evident because it is not structuredto be didactic. The starting point of this project is the Philippinenational anthem Lupang Hinirang. Like an existing brick wall, the projectis concerned with transforming it into a livable structure that expands,gets torn-down and gets rebuilt again, depending on the people participatingin its construction (or its destruction). I merely serve as its instigatorso 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 plotof a story. It gives narrative interest but I am not theme-focused. Iuse it as a tool and not an investigative goal. Mine are generally focusedon issues about identity and memory because they are related to theimmediate situations that I live in at the moment the projects wereinitiated.

A A:It seems pertinent that you indicate yourinterest in the structural quality becauseI think that what really operates in yourwork is a certain insistent exploration ofthese structures through which significanceis produced within a culture, and here, itis interesting to see how the theme functionsas a catalyst, almost as a pretext, not aconstituent. K A:

The theme in this project invites you to participate, todebate it, to share with me and everybody else your reactionto it. It is not imposed upon. It's like the video of TwoGirls, One Cup. What is interesting is how, in Youtube, peoplehave made videos of people reacting to this nasty video.Another example, how many times have you ever been in asituation wherein you needed to know the meaning of anunfamiliar word, then instead of going to the library, askingaround, you simply click on Google search, Wikipedia or getinto a chat forum online and pop comes the answer you werelooking for. Aside from the ease, the important thing is,this allows you to formulate your own hypothesis with regardsto the information you needed. The translation and transmissionof knowledge, with the tools that are provided nowadays isnot 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 video-performances. We do not ask a lot from the musicians, it doesnot take much of their time and we come up with a fresh outputall the time because the video-performance is not rehearsed.Also, in Homage, for me it is not necessary that the viewerunderstand that these are musical reactions to the anthem.I also do not expect the viewer to watch entire videos, soif they only see it for 5-10 seconds, then be it. You canenter and leave the video experience at any given moment.Reception does not fall under the responsibility of the artistnor artwork. Traditional cinematographic narratives and timedo not nurture this series of videos. It is structurally non-linear. As I had mentioned before, the project is not didactic.It's like surfing in Youtube, if a clip catches your attentionyou watch it and if you want to learn more you find ways toenrich yourself and get what you need, if not, you simplybrowse other ones.

In the end, the lyrics of the national anthem looses it value.Both its cultural and political weight is redefined. Itevolves. It is claimed by others and transformed into somethingtotally different. The manner in which the musicians interpretthe lyrics is inevitable (hip hop, rap, funk, punk, goth,rock, grunge, etc). The cultural context, in this case playedwithin the geographical framework of Spain, adds to thisredefinition. If this project would be done in 20 years, or30 years ago, or if it were done in Germany or the USA, itwould be a totally different context. We go beyond context,by going through context.

A A:Consequently, in the search for identity and how it hasthe capacity to unity people, a hymn is not only amusical exhaltation of national sentiment but as anenblem of collectiveness. Specifically, in the case ofthe Philippines, it is interesting to know the differentforms, uses and receptions throughout its evolution intime, how it has become a product of cultural translationin itself.K A:Julian Felipe originally composed the music of the hymn in 1898. The Spanish lyrics from theSpanish poem Filipinas by Jose Palma were added the year after. It was adopted as our nationalanthem during the first Independence Day celebration when colonial rule of the Spaniards ended.

Filipinas (1899)

Tierra adoradahija del sol de Oriente,su fuego ardienteen ti latiendo est·.°Tierra de amores!del heroÌsmo cuna,los invasoresno te hollar·n jam·s.En tu azul cielo, en tus auras,en tus montes y en tu maresplende y late el poemade tu amada libertad.Tu pabellÛn, que en las lidesla victoria iluminÛ,no ver· nunca apagadossus 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 nationalsymbol was prohibited and they changed the lyrics to English. This task was given to a famouspoet 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 invadersTrample thy sacred shore.

Ever within thy skies and through thy cloudsAnd 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 fieldBe 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 northernregions of the Philippines, started to appear in the 40s. Diwa ng Bayan (Spirit of theCountry) 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 byJulian Cruz Balmaceda, Ildefonso Santos and by Francisco Caballo.

O Sintang Lupa (1948)

O Sintang Lupa,Perlas ng Silanganan;Diwang apoy kangSa araw nagmula.

Lupang magiliw,Pugad ng kagitingan,Sa manlulupigDi ka papaslang.

Sa iyong langit, simoy, parang.Dagat at kabundukan,Laganap ang tibok ng pusoSa paglayang walang hanggan.

Sagisag ng watawat mong mahalNingning at tagumpay;Araw't bituin niyang maalabAng s'yang lagi naming tanglaw.

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

Finally, during the regime of President Ramon Magsaysay the hymn was once again revised andtranslated into the Pilipino language, the new artificial language that is made up mainly ofTagalog words with other words in other languages spoken in the archipelago. Then again in the60s it was again revised, this time by Felipe Padilla de Leon, who wrote Lupang Hinirang. A newnational law, the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, also known as Republic Act No. 8491was established in 1998 and recognized it as the official anthem, but not the anterior versionsin English and Spanish.

Lupang Hinirang

Bayang magiliw,Perlas ng SilangananAlab 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'yTagumpay 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 startingpoint of this project is because of its usage restrictions. For example, it can only be musicallyplayed according to the initial composition made by Julian Felipe. That means to say, it can onlyeven 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 itís sung outside the Philippinesin limited and officially acceptable events. So, legally, the anthem is protected as a nationalliving treasure.

For me the anthem symbolizes post-colonialism in the Philippines. It becomes a cultural dogmato people who have historically suffered from the ravages of foreign rule. Growing up in a countrylike mine, you are born into a place with insecurity issues when it comes to its identity. ThePhilippines is like someone who (after different waves of colonial rule) got married and divorcedfour times. She is still trying to figure out who she was and is. This post-colonial home environmenthas 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 artificiallanguage composed mainly of Tagalog words and sprinkled with some words from the other languagesin the country. In visual arts and music the thematic and material concern evolved around theindigenous. 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 ofwriting.

When a "post-colonial baby" (like me) suddenly finds himself in Europe and in the US where thecontext is so different, he learns that nobody really gives a shit about these insecurities. Therest of the world has its own concerns. Besides, post-colonial theory propagates cultural specificitypermitting its evaluation only within its limits. In contemporary society where technology isquestioning the limitations of cultural specificity, this is not enough. Nowadays, frontiers areeconomic and political constructions; history and culture act only as its material support. Moreand more, identity and its complexities are rooted in personal ambivalence. One can claim whohe 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 wantedto 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 theunderpinnings of its structure, in Homage, it is not enough to merely subject the anthem toanalysis and criticism. Far from its original essence, when the musician reacts to it, he transformsit, makes it his It evolves into something totally different. My argument is not to come up witha 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 twodirections. The first steps we took werein Barcelona working with musicians inthe street, although the project reallytook off when I invited you to developthis project specifically in Bilbao...

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

Homage: DJ-KNO2009

A A:In the framework of La Conservera’s invitation, youhave worked with local musicians in the region ofMurcia. How was the collaborative process with theparticipants?K A:

It has been one surprise after another. In Murcia I have been able to collaborate with differentprofessional musicians coming from different genres: pop, folk, punk, jazz, rock, etc. Mostof 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 Ceiceopted for me to read them the Filipino version Lupang Hinirang because they were interestedin how the words sounded instead of what they meant. AndrÈs MartÌn was probably the one whohad a hard time because as a disk jockey he is used to interpreting other songs instead ofcomposing them. I told him that for the video-performance he could not do this. In the endhe dabbled with his computer and ended up creating an entirely new electronic-based songentitled Friends Forever. Jesus Cutillas shared with me his views on being against the ideaof an anthem. This lead to the video entitled Tantos Muertos (Too Many Dead) recorded in hiskids' playroom inside their home in the outskirts. The rock band Vare Brava made an upbeatsong. Ra˙l Frutos improvised using a musical instrument of his creation. Angel Pop was ecstaticand ended up throwing his guitar on the floor. Imagine that!

The most unexpected surprise was the performance created by the OrfeÛn Murciano Fern·ndoCaballero. I really didn't know how it would turn out but in the end, with the help of theirdirector, 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 videowith Taray, a group of folk musicians. We were recording the performance on video butunfortunately I had some technical problems with the film. Our schedules were in conflictand we couldn't redo another shoot. It is a pity. They composed an entire song just for theproject.

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 hadthe opportunity to present more than one video-performance, what focus have you given the exhibitionspace? The question of its reception is rooted in thegestation of Homage. I remember that initially youthought that it could even be a project that couldcirculate uniquely on the Internet, although finallythere has been more than one way of showing them...

K A:Homage is in constant flux, always transforming itself into somethingdifferent, 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 MarioMiravalles ¡balos ( HYPERLINK "http://mariomiravalles.com"http://mariomiravalles.com). He is an economist, a graphic designer, anillustrator, photographer and he also makes videos. On top of that, youcould say he is an expert in social networking sites found in the Internet.New ideas and formats are being created because of our conversations. Hehas taught me how the structural framework of creating a platform is partlyrelated to concepts that are being used in marketing strategies and InternetMeme phenomenon. As an avid online surfer of videos, he constantly shareswith me the trendiest, funniest and most absurd. This interaction withhim has partly inspired the aesthetic parameter of the videos in Homage.It is not about copying a look, but exploring how the conditions of agiven situation can result to a certain aesthetic output. When it comesto video production, I am concerned at how digital video technology ismolded by the way Internet users play with visual elements or how certainperformative issues or perhaps, the context of the place and time ofshooting the video takes control over the medium itself. It is interestinghow one's limited technical knowledge can lead to experimental ways ofusing it.

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

Why should Homage be developed in Murcia? The most important answer issimply because it has a strong community of musicians that can be tappedinto. We are really lucky to have Pablo Lag and Isabel Durante to coordinatethe whole process because they know their way around this community. Theyare integrated in it. They were even part of a band themselves. You canimagine my initial shock when they told me they could coordinate up to80 musicians to participate and in such short notice! They know each other,collaborate with each other and if an outsider like me, who proposes anactivity comes in, they are very supportive. For me, Homage really tookoff because of two key elements: coordination and participation. Theproject is intended to be site-specific. It is in its nature to be such.It warrants collaboration with the local community, specifically, withmusicians living in the region.

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

Homage logoMario Miravalles Ábalos

Copyright of the author2010

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 BIEN" (Take 1) 2:31 minutes"ME JODISTE BIEN" (Take 2) 1:52 minutes"ME JODISTE BIEN" (Take 3) 1:31 minutes"ME JODISTE BIEN" (Take 4) 1:29 minutes

Caro Ceice"TÚ" (Take 1) 4:53 minutes"TÚ" (Take 2) 3:25 minutes"TÚ" (Take 3) 2:59 minutes"TÚ" (Take 4) 2:51 minutes"TÚ" (Take 5) 9:24 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" (Take 1) 5:29 minutes"VICTORIA" (Take 2) 2:42 minutes"VICTORIA" (Take 3) 2:44 minutes"VICTORIA" (Take 4) 3:23 minutes"VICTORIA" (Take 5) 4:46 minutes"VICTORIA" (Take 6) 2:57 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 IMPROVISATION" (Take 1) 5:23 minutes"INSTRUMENTAL IMPROVISATION" (Take 2) 2:23 minutes"INSTRUMENTAL IMPROVISATION" (Take 3) 2:58 minutes"INSTRUMENTAL IMPROVISATION" (Take 4) 2:16 minutes

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

Varry Brava"PARAPAPARA" (Take 1) 6:55 minutes"PARAPAPARA" (Take 2) 2:50 minutes"PARAPAPARA" (Take 3) 5:48minutes"PARAPAPARA" (Take 4) 2:36 minutes"PARAPAPARA" (Take 5) 2:42 minutes"PARAPAPARA" (Take 6) 1:45 minutes"PARAPAPARA" (Take 7) 4:16 minutes"PARAPAPARA" (Take 8) 4:07 minutes"PARAPAPARA" (Take 9) 4:13 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 themusicians in Murcia have been edited.

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

View of the exhibitionLa Conservera Centro de Arte ContemporáneoMurcia, Spain

Thirdly, an exhibition space is provided. This project can adapt to various presentationformats. It can be shown as a one-time video projection in an audiovisual room, on the monitorin 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 inCeutÌ and in different places in Murcia have contributed chairs and sofas that have beeninstalled 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 wantedcomfort to be the key element to consider in watching the video. Eventually the public willrearrange the chairs according to their viewing pleasure, just like being at home when wewatch the football match with our friends in the living room.

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

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

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