ARTAFRICAplay in random order, so the piece is never the same. In the performance instantiation (‘instantiation’
is from the language of computer science, I use it to refer to the specific materialisation of a piece at
a specific moment) I play all elements, music and video. Even the film I showed at the official opening
of THAT ART FAIR is the result of a video improvisation that I played on a keyboard and then re-
edited.
Regarding collective participation, it happens essentially during the installation instantiation. Visitors,
even those who do not want to actively participate in the installation, become part of the piece as
soon as they enter the hall where it is set up, since they are the object of the masked gaze of other
participants and they can shift constantly between the role of performers or spectators, or stand in-
between. In the ‘Kaleta space,’ on the masked side, it’s a really interesting experience to be surrounded
by people wearing almost identical masks or to freely stare at other people without any embarrassment
because of the protection that the mask provides.
The pulse can also be visual, like when I use repetitive rows of cowries, or in video loops, or in my
musical works. The collective participation comes from the fact that most of my pieces demand
action from the ‘spectator’ (for instance in my series ‘Mempo,’ one has to come face to face at close
range with a mask in order to see the video that’s displayed inside). Regarding improvisation, I like to
take risks and modify pieces at the last moment. During my last exhibition in Paris, I finished hanging
some works while people were already there. I decided to modify one of the Surtentures on the spot
and at the last moment added part of an instantiation of Pavillon du Bénin, the piece that I showed at
the Venice biennale’s Giardinis.
The interactivity in Kaleta/Kaleta blurs the idea of the artist as the originator and the creator
of art and the piece would remain largely unrealised without participation. What does this
imply about how you perceive the role of the artist?
I wouldn’t actually say that the piece would remain largely unrealised without participation: this
statement is only valid for a specific performative installation that needs strong participation from
the visitors. But it is realised in other instantiations, for instance Kaleta/Kaleta as a multiscreen video
and sound installation or in its purely musical or film version, such as the one I showed in Paris and
at THAT ART FAIR’s official opening, or even as the photographic version (also shown at TAF).
These are all different instantiations of the same piece that resides largely in its concept. The degree
of participation is different, on a continuum going from actively watching (I always hide meaningful
details in the pieces) to dancing or densely interacting with other ‘spectactors.’ It is still the same
artwork, some aspects of which are more prominent than others depending on the context. Once
again it’s a piece with ‘variable geometry.’ The medium is part of the message, so it’s in a way similar
to looking at a statue from different angles, like different two-dimensional ways of looking at a three
dimesional object.
Regarding artists, to me they are essentially – as Ezra Pound wrote – antennae. But they are also
catalysts: they crystallise visions, ideas and experiences that are latent and manifest them. I personally
think, like Mondrian, that they express a spiritual reality. I create this link in my own practice, in my
‘Electrofetishes’ series for instance, by literally charging the works with active spiritual and artistic
energy. Moreover, I also feel this role as a catalyst when I work with craftsmen who manifest, during
THAT ART FAIR / IN CONVERSATION WITH EMO DE MEDEIROS 9/22
FEATURE / THAT ART FAIR