The Black Box (2017)
This piece departed from a found school bus that was set on fire; its ruined aspect portraits the memory of a body, allowing to reflect on the abandoned object and therefore to rethink its use and significance. In it, Carlos Castro Arias created a video installation where music and images work as a mantra, wrapping the body in sounds and pictures that have an anecdotal relationship where the shame of the body is presented.
The video was created in collaboration with the filmmaker Andres Borda and the music composer Daniel Castro. The sound of the piece was elaborated using the actual bus as a musical instrument; the metal chairs as percussion, the window frames as violins, etc; all this constructing a 7 minutes composition.
The arrangement of the stage resembles settings in institutions, such as schools and the churches, where rows of subordinates face a solemn structure. The screen, elevated and dogmatic, attracts the attention of the spectators as a place that has been consecrated.