Food For Weapons showcases contemporary works by artists working on the current manipulation of power in Venezuela and its relationship to the body. The current regime in Venezuela has fabricated an extensive list of methods to keep control of the people and prevent them from uprising. Besides food, medicines, water and power shortages, the Venezuelan government controls most mass media resulting in a univocal, repetitive discourse in which the only valid voice is the one of the government in an attempt to destroy diversity of opinion.

The works presented here in Trinidad question the manipulation of power through intimate narratives, touching issues of violence, genre and memory, and undermining established discourses that are either taboo or simply ignored. Several of the artists in this exhibit have been politically persecuted by the current regime in Venezuela for their works –  some of which are deliberately shocking and are only suitable for a mature audience.

This show is also about violence and its relationship to the body. All of the artists in this exhibit work with their body as an instrument. The body has always been the battleground where violence is enacted. Whether through instrument of hunger, torture or menace, it is in the body upon which violence is enacted. It is also upon the body that concepts of beauty are imposed … These artists believe that the body can be a channel of liberation, and it is a democratic, universal, and accessible to all.

The title “Food For Weapons”, food for thought, refers not only to the food shortages and violence situation in Venezuela, but also that ideas can be seen as  food, that we need to reflect on what is happening in Venezuela and not repeat the same mistakes here. A reminder that hunger can be both a dangerous oppressor and the most dramatic motivator for ultimate liberation. The idea that ideas can be both food for thought and thoughts can be weapons of change.

-Sandra Vivas,Curator-Food For Weapons/Experimental Filmmaker

The Works

Epistolary Directed by Max Provenzano (2016)

2mins 42secs

Epistalory is a reflection on the Venezuelan violence situation.
In this work, the explicit sexual connotations creates a dual discourse on submission and power, pleasure as shown in porn iconography and pleasure as it relates to power. Most of Venezuelan feel they have no control on how to stop the current violence spiral, the access to guns keeps increasing and so do robberies and murders.

Migracion Selectiva 2 / Selective Migration 2 Directed by Luis Poleo (2015)

1min 15secs

The apparent comedic nature of this animation is loaded with references from Art and Venezuelan History: the main character is heavily ‘migrating’ along with the weight of a history that is cyclically repeated. The ‘messiah’  is represented by the ‘King Vulture’ which is a repeated figure in Latin-American Art Iconography, the ‘new hero’ is the focal point, and it illustrates the cult to the  personality and caricatures the promotion of the past as the only solution for the future.

R.E.D Directed by Raul Rodriguez (2014)

3mins

This gif is an animation made out of 300 photograms as a critical apology to the violent saturation and objectification of the human being in Venezuela. It illustrates the multiplication of anti-social beings stripped of their own thoughts, animals trained to execute and repeat actions.

Ichtys II Directed by Carlos Salazar Lermont (2014)

4mins 09secs

With the screen split in half, the artist simultaneously performs the same action on himself and on a fish, pressing his finger for several minutes to contrast life and death, using symbols related to Christian iconography as a form of exorcism of the cultural weight of martyrdom and guilt.

Marx Palimpsesto Directed by Deborah Castillo (2015)

4mins

In this performance/installation/video the artist erases quotes from Marx written on the walls and floor with an eraser, also made also by the artist,  with the shape of Marx’s head. The written text is replaced by the gesture, the action and becomes a perennial movement, a forever unfinished process, a discourse that deconstructs itself and dissolves the separation between a corporeal action and written text.

Oblivion Directed by Anna Rosa Rodriguez (2016)

7mins 37secs

In this intimist and poetic performance/video, Rodriguez documents non verbal experiences of abuse without using any violence or directly addressing the issue. In this case, the mapping of personal memory becomes a transgression against amnesia and the mass produced messages
of collective memory.

Cetrinez / Sallow Directed by Erika Ordosgoitti (2012)

56secs

By urinating directly into the camera, in a supine angle, the artist distorts the image of the vulva and turns it into something unintelligible, while playing with the sound of the stream. Breaking behavioral codes assigned by society in surprisingly simple gestures has always been the strategy of Ordosgoitti, in this case we also find it reminiscent of ‘The Origin of the World’ by Courbet.

North Eleven projection artists are especially interested in the interaction between visuals and how the audience interacts with them. Working with multiple technologies and interfaces and always searching for new ways of incorporating creative use of digital technology into their work, they are always in a state of flux and their work constantly evolves as they believe “What we created yesterday , we may never create again.”

“Light” will produce a live audio-visual performance for New Media ttff16. The performance will incorporate projection mapping and murals, live digital graffiti and motion design, and live visuals. From lo-tech local art mediums such as pieces of string , paper, wire mesh and cardboard to the latest audio-visual applications and collaborations with fellow artists, illustrators, painters and musicians will create stunning mixed media artwork.

Technical support for New Media is generously provided by North Eleven, official projection partners of the ttff.

18 year old Gregory is caught between repressing his true creative nature and desires and surrendering to society’s dictates of what it means to be a man.  An encounter with a successful businessman derails the plans set by his family and community. Play The Devil shatters conventions of sexuality, masculinity, morality and individuality through its unapologetic multi-layered explorations of power dynamics, religion and aspirations.

Does your name define who you are? In an attempt to find his own identity, Amir goes out on a quest to discover what the names of people across all facets of society mean to them in relation to their identity and sense of self.

When the Lionfish Came counters the paradisaical view of the Bahamas. It explores the parity in exploitation between the population and the natural environment in the face of climate change and neocolonialism.

Welcoming Arms follows 92-year- old Johnny, whose mission is to spread happiness. He has been blowing kisses to traffic 6 hours a day, 5 days a week for 30 years. Hear the unique perspectives from young children around the area.

The sea has been responsible for claiming the lives of many people. This experimental film explores the mystery of the sea, by examining the issue of drowning, but from the observer’s point of view. In turn, the sea “responds” to the perceptions of the observers by giving and account of its mysterious nature.

As Nailah disposes the ashes of her father, she recalls the telephone conversations she had with him and reflects on their estranged relationship that was filled with broken promises. She seeks to finally move on, releasing her father in death, to relieve his absence in her life.

John is in a secret romantic relationship with Lorraine who happens to be his best friend’s wife. He finds himself in the closet when Randall makes an unplanned home visit and witnesses Randall kill his wife.This murder reveals a web of hidden details from the past and John becomes a not so innocent bystander.

Two men must work together, after they wake up in a warehouse without any memory of who they are or how they got there.