Artist // MEATS Students 2020
Type // Public Intervention
Status // Completed
Location // Olot, ES
Recipient of the Silver Award at the 8th Edition ELISAVA Professional Edition Awards
Far Away, So Close is the result of a workshop held in Xevi Bayona's studio in Olot, led by MEATS students. During the 5 days, we further developed the original proposal, bought and tested materials, in order to reach a final result. Six sound mirrors were then placed in pairs, scattered around the chosen location.
The strategy takes the site of Firal as an experimental ground for new interactions. The aim is to promote autonomous interactions with the community, taking into account their existing modes of activity (i.e. weekly markets, social gatherings, exercised daily routes, general curiosities) and proposing a spatial strategy that enhances these modes of interaction. Our research focuses on communication as an insert for novel activities; i.e. communication through distance and communication through shared resources.
The intervention promotes social interaction and cohesion by introducing acoustic dishes on site, creating soundscapes through the use of distance as a positive element. It provokes different modes of interconnection through a playful logic; whether by taking part in a game of Chinese whispers, performing an intimate concert, sharing a personal message from across a crowded space, or by telling a secret..
It has had the support of Olot City Council, and was the first installation in the public space, made at the Olot Fair on July 17, 2020. In addition, in 21 October of 2020, it was installed in three different locations in Olot for 9 weeks to foster civic interaction in times of pandemics. First installed in Parc Espunya, a public park next to Fluvià river, then it was moved to Bonavsita neighborhood, and finally moved to Pla de Dalt; finishing its journey.
Students: Alexa Nader, Assil Naji, Brentsen Solomon, Dalia Al-Akki, Eirini Sampani, Elena Caubet, Jad Karam, Jana Antoun, Joelle Nader, Juan Arizti, Kuan Yi Wu, Inés Fernández, Marta Borreguero, Mokshuda Narula, Montserrat Sevilla, Selen Kurt, Stephanie Ibrahim, Tanvi Gupta, Tiago Rosado, Tracy Jabbour, and Yunling Jin
Tutors: Roger Paez, Toni Montes, and Xevi Bayona
To read more about the intervention and award, click here.