MOMENTS THAT SHAPED THE WORLD
Video archive, seven chapters, H.264, DVD-video, stereo, color, variable lenghts
Moments that shaped the world I, II, III, IV, V, VI and VII are the first eight chapters of a series of videos where the juxtaposition of images and sound modifies the perception and gives way to new meanings. A sort of personal visual diary composed by Melis with material sourced online inspired on his experiences in various socio-political contexts around the world.
Chapter I - Havana-Berlin - 2012
A single-shot video from a street in Havana and the audio of the CNN broadcast live from the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. This simple disjunction between image and sound suggests the persistence of an ideological system which fell apart in certain parts of the world but still conditions life in Cuba.
Chapter II - Primavera Sound - 2013
Footage from a popular music festival in the city of Barcelona and the audio of manifestations and street protests of the M-15 movement in Spain. The video suggests a certain frustration towards political protests which are in the end reduced to mere spectacle.
Chapter III - The East is Red- 2014
Flickering neon lights in Shanghai and Raul Castro singing in 2008 an extract from ‘The East is Red’, the de facto national anthem of the People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. Past ideals built on the foundation of Communist thought are contrasted with the present state of capitalism.
Chapter IV - The Never Ending Story - 2015
The artist constructs a sharp and sarcastic montage of images of various demonstrations that took place in Greece during the recent years due to the crisis that hit the country in 2010, accompanied by sound taken from a frivolous travelog of a German girl who lost his suitcase during a trip to Greece.
Chapter V - The Front Row - 2017
Description coming soon
Chapter VI - Sleep Paralysis - 2018
Description coming soon
Chapter VII -National Pride - 2019
Description coming soon
Installation view
A single-shot video from a street in Havana and the audio of the CNN broadcast live from the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. This simple disjunction between image and sound suggests the persistence of an ideological system which fell apart in certain parts of the world but still conditions life in Cuba.
Chapter II - Primavera Sound - 2013
Footage from a popular music festival in the city of Barcelona and the audio of manifestations and street protests of the M-15 movement in Spain. The video suggests a certain frustration towards political protests which are in the end reduced to mere spectacle.
Chapter III - The East is Red- 2014
Flickering neon lights in Shanghai and Raul Castro singing in 2008 an extract from ‘The East is Red’, the de facto national anthem of the People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. Past ideals built on the foundation of Communist thought are contrasted with the present state of capitalism.
Chapter IV - The Never Ending Story - 2015
The artist constructs a sharp and sarcastic montage of images of various demonstrations that took place in Greece during the recent years due to the crisis that hit the country in 2010, accompanied by sound taken from a frivolous travelog of a German girl who lost his suitcase during a trip to Greece.
Chapter V - The Front Row - 2017
Description coming soon
Chapter VI - Sleep Paralysis - 2018
Description coming soon
Chapter VII -National Pride - 2019
Description coming soon
Installation view