Artist Statement

CAPASSO+KELLER+TINAJERO is an artist collaborative that specializes in large-scale participatory multimedia installations. We use sound, video and sculptural elements to create immersive environments that become alive as the audience meanders through them, fostering social interactions and unique perceptual experiences.

Our work explores how cultural and socioeconomic forces interact. We view culture as an ubiquitous element that tempers humans’ relationships with the environment. Our installations emphasize the linkages among seemingly disconnected issues, for instance the impact of urban-based consumerism on deforestation of the Amazon.

The tools we have developed over the last seventeen years provide us with a rich sonic palette based on the local sound sources and images. The sonic material, recorded in situ, serves as a mold for the development of ecologically grounded synthesis techniques. The video images are also shot on site and enhanced through hand-crafted animations. We use multiple simultaneous video and audio projections designed to enhance the sculptural dimensions of the installation space. The meaning of the visual content is context-dependent and changes based on how images are projected onto sculptures. The constantly changing soundscape either resonates or clashes with the imagery. By using familiar visual elements, intermixed with sculptural objects, we strive to engage the viewer on a visceral level, conjuring memories of past experiences and imbuing them with new meaning.

We view creativity as inherently participatory. Let us exemplify this concept through a description of our working cycle. Firstly, there is an intense exchange of concepts and proposals. We employ web technologies to support discussions with multiple collaborators. Second, we materialize ideas through creative surrogates, letting relationships among materials emerge through ongoing exchanges. (This process usually takes several months of intense work). Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we let the exhibition space elicit the visitors’ creative actions. The artwork becomes complete only when the participants unleash the location-specific potential of the installation. Their movements define the experience.

Our ultimate goal is to provide experiences that highlight the tight culture-environment relationship that underlies our use of Earth resources. Hopefully, this raised awareness may contribute to a more sustainable and, above all, more respectful relationship with the Earth.