Pilar Mata Dupont (DAI, 2016) and Erika Roux share an interest in the cinematic tropes of the Western genre, within which they have found a playful and relevant language to reflect on different political perspectives and forms of relating to territory, nature, and community. Scenes from The Polder Western — speculative notes for a screenplay — is an experiment in narrative and absurdism allowing them to research and investigate personal concerns arising from living in an environmentally vulnerable country facing complex issues, such as climate change and its subsequent (mis)management. SCENES FROM THE POLDER WESTERN is published by Building Fictions. Thursday June 29, 8—10pm at Lauriergracht 116W: launch with a performative reading by Pilar Mata Dupont and Petra Ball at 8.30pm
“I used to be like everyone else, scared about what will become of us. But one day, as I was strolling from town to town, all upset, no room for hope, feeling betrayed by a world that has given up on us, I had to stop at the beach to get some fresh sea air. I had the urge to take my revolver out, to take it all out, you know… I started to shoot like a maniac at the sea.”
Pilar Mata Dupont is a Latina visual artist and filmmaker born in Boorloo/Perth. In her practice she uses temporal strategies of looping, fragmentation, and dislocation to delve into the fallibility and malleability of narratives of history and memory, researching extensively into the creation of told histories and their untold counterparts. In the process of making her video, performance, and photography works, she often explores the structures and tropes of genre narratives. Mata Dupont’s recent practice has expanded into non-linear, character-focused, and concept-driven storytelling. Pilar Mata Dupont studied at the Dutch Art Institute and she lives and works in Rotterdam.