CTRL T: Declinación Magnética

Margins of error / a new tab of historical memory

metamatic:taf continues its umbrella program CTRL+T curated by METASITU, metamatic:taf’s artistic directors, with the participation of Declinación Magnética and their project Margin of Error. The project will start on the 28th of May. The screening and Q&A will take place on the 30th of May at 8pm.

The CTRL+ T programme is an initiative aimed at mobilising emerging local and international artists to deploy their artistic practice and develop work in progress. Throughout the year and for a specific period, different artists are given control of metamatic:taf’s physical and virtual space, in order to elaborate upon the concept of CTRL+T with absolute freedom in terms of research methodology and artistic means.

CTRL+T constitutes a platform for artists and researchers to work during the period of time with social turmoil and cultural transitions that constantly trigger new concerns in the field of cultural production in Greece. In this light, a climate of questioning and displacement, particularly in the cultural sector, where we are currently facing identity- forming notions has been produced. The Spanish collective Declinación Magnética intervene at CTRL+T with the idea of challenging established historical narratives; a re-examination, a new tab of sorts, of the historical memory. During their «occupation» of metamatic:taf’s space, many issues native to this shared framework between Spain and Greece will emerge through the screening of the 60 minutes film ‘Margin of Error’, followed by a Q&A/Open discussion. This work is particularly relevant to the Greek context, as it identifies the mechanisms used to produce History, and signals the different strategies of complicity and dissemination found in the education system.

‘Margin of error’ delves into Spain’s colonial past and present through a critical approach to consolidated accounts of the “Discovery and Colonisation of America”, as they are reflected in school textbooks. This work is the result of a series of collective exercises conducted with a group of students and teachers of Spanish Secondary Education, carried out over three days at a film set and recorded on video. Students took part in two types of activities. These included, on the one hand, exercises aimed at unearthing ideas and depictions buried in the subconscious by provoking situations in which notions and concepts seldom dealt with when teaching such subjects (e.g., genocide or exploitation) were discussed; and on the other, more regimented exercises in which students were instructed to carry out specific acts of memorization and staging, both important tools in learning about and representing the past.

Declinación Magnética’s intervention at CTRL+T introduces new poetics and forms of narration that are critical to Greece’s often debated past, and its multiple official versions. The collective will be represented by Julia Morandeira and Sally Gutiérrez.

Declinación Magnética: Aimar Arriola, Jose Manuel Bueso, Diego del Pozo, Eduardo Galvagni, Juan Guardiola, Sally Gutiérrez, Julia Morandeira and Silvia Zayas.

Screening and Q&A: Monday 30 May 2016, 8pm

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 12.00-21.00, Sun 12.00-19.00

Admission free

This event is financed by Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) thanks to the mobility grants for the Program for Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE)