The Closest Farthest Away is a performance hybrid of theater and cinema. All Cuban characters and locations are projected via a multi-channel video installation. An American actor interacts with the projections from Cuba creating a dramatic metaphor for the impossibility of exchange between our two cultures. Video is of necessity because the dialog between our two countries is always mediated: Bodies cannot legally move between borders, nor can they share live space with each other. Through video we can virtually create an impossible world, one in which Cuban and American artists share the same stage.
The reason this project is ultimately a theatrical experience is because the core conflict has to do with the impossibility of being together in one place. Ultimately as mediums, the live body and video projection are diametrically opposed. One is stubbornly three dimensional and linear, the other is inherently dimensionless and capable of instantaneous change. Placing them side by side is meant to imply coexistence, but ultimately it is a crude fantasy perpetuated by our brain's ability to create continuity. For an in-depth look at the design process, visit our design blog. |