“Descartes Lav” is an audiovisual trilogy made up of the films ‘Descartes Lav - 16mm’, ‘Descartes Lav - 35mm’ and ‘Descartes Lav - S8’, accompanied by a textile piece.
This project interlaces the areas of film and textiles. Scraps of 16mm, 35mm and super8 film were sewn together by hand with black cotton thread, reviving the meaning of these fragments of celluloid scattered around the laboratory space. The focus of the work is on the materiality of the films, overshadowing the original content encapsulated in them. The sound that accompanies the three films was captured directly from a sewing machine, whose rhythm follows the movement of the celluloid on the screen. This sound is reminiscent of the sound of an analog projector, which construction was born from the adaptation of a sewing machine for this filmic function. The hand-stitched films are also presented in textile format, woven on a low warp loom, together with wool and bioplastic thread. This creation is part of an exploration of the integration of textile techniques, processes and materials into cinematographic practices, establishing parallels between the two artistic domains.
"Descartes Lav - 16mm is a piece of audiovisual craftsmanship that blends the film medium with the textile. Descartes of 16mm films were sewn with black cotton thread, restoring meaning to these pieces of celluloid scattered around the space of a laboratory. The materiality of the films is emphasized to the detriment of their content. This piece follows the investigation of the use of techniques, processes and textile materials in film practices. Many of them are analogous to working with textiles.
The sound used in the piece was captured from a sewing machine. The rhythm of the machine accompanies the rhythm at which the film moves on the screen. It refers to the sound of a 16mm projector, whose construction was born from a sewing machine being adapted for this film function." - Master LAV
Screenings and Festivals:
* 17th edition of PROYECTOR (ES, 2024) - "Descartes Lav - 16mm"
* Casa de Gigante solo exhibition (PT, 2024) - “Descartes Lav ”
* Festival Punto y Raya (ES, 2023) – “Descartes Lav – 16mm”
* Doc’s Kingdom (PT, 2023) – “Descartes Lav – 16mm”
*Project selected for the INPUT program, as part of the festival (S8) Mostra Internacional de
Cinema Periférico (ES, 2023)