SARA BONAVENTURA

As if the color was looking at you

3:00 min
2021

As if the color was looking at you is an expanded site-specific version, of 26 analogue processed choreographies on a multiscreen. Each choreographic sequence has been processed with different vintage synths together with Doepfer analog modular system: a Hearn Videlab, a Rutt/Etra raster scan, a Jones colorizer and a wobbulator, a modified monitor first prototyped by the legendary Nam June Paik. The same solo input changed dramatically through the real time processing. The multiplied body of the performer is a node, in a state of estrangement within the self, immersed in the choreography of the machines, but capable of creating a relational sense outside of the self.
From FACT magazine: Back in 2017 artist and filmmaker Sara Bonaventura began an ongoing project bringing together vintage analog video synthesis and electronic music composed using analog synthesisers. Initially joining forces with Caterina Barbieri, the first chapter of the project, As if the color was looking at you, features footage of choreographer Annamaria Ajmone manipulated using voltage controlled oscillators and patches, resulting in a mesmerising, multicolour triptych(...). Bonaventura employs a variety of vintage analog video synthesisers, including the Rutt/Etra scan processor, a Jones coloriser and a Hearn Videolab video synth, to create multiple layers of analog effects, highlighting and at times disfiguring the form of Annamaria Ajmone’s movements.