Working with material

Working with material focuses on the audiovisual archives generated by current Basque artists. The project is rooted in a view of research as an imaginative practice capable of reactivating the object of study, as well as in the idea of the active artist's entire archive as something inherently unstable, complex, unique and in progress.

Based on these two premises, Working with material aims to deploy, study, inventory and digitalise specific audiovisual archive materials, materials that, in some cases, were discarded during the editing process. The aim is to taking a new look at and rethink these materials from the perspective of a moment or circumstance that is different from the one in which they were produced. The project seeks to explore the vitality of these materials in dialogue with those who created them.

The first case study in the Working with material project comprises the personal archive of the artist Itziar Okariz, which consists of photographs and videos in diverse formats produced over the course of her career. The project continues a conversation initiated with the artist in 2019 by the Bulegoa z/b group, and seeks to proceed with the analysis of her collection begun by a group of EQZE students on the Film Preservation Studies course during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Based on the study, inventory and digitalisation of the archives, Working with material aims to engage in a dialogue with Itziar Okariz in order to explore the ins and outs of her practice over the past three decades. A practice characterised by its economy, as well as by its insistence, time and time again, on a limited range of issues and references.

Research team:
Bulegoa z/b (Miren Jaio, Leire Bergara, Beatriz Cavia) (lead investigators)

Students 2020-2021:
Lucas Larriera, Macarena Fernández Puig, Mayra Morán, Ramón de Fontecha

Associated institutions:
Bulegoa z/b

Timeframe:
2021 - ongoing