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Fito Conesa
Helicon
Helicon
2019
On display
In ancient Greece, Mount Helicon was the home of Pegasus, the winged horse. A tortuous mountain, its name literally derives from the word for ‘helix’, or ‘spiral’, from which we also derive the name of the wind and brass musical instrument known as a helicon, similar to the tuba and predecessor of the modern sousaphone. Starting from this etymological affiliation, Fito Conesa convened a small band of wind and brass instruments in the Sierra Minera de Cartagena-La Unión, in Murcia. Taking advantage of the apocalyptic aspect of the lake created by the waste from mining activities – an area polluted by oxides and yet of great beauty –, Conesa introduced seven musicians of various ages and asked them to play a melody to see if the earth, in response, would detonate the end of the world (and with it, its renewal). A sonic gesture invoking the biblical account of the Apocalypse with  its seven mythical trumpets. The drone that records the opening scene places the viewer in the position of Pegasus. The apparent contradiction between the beauty of a toxic scene and the absurdity of the sonic gesture acts as a  visual essay on our imminent future.
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The texts of the MACBA web draw on previous documentation. Please let us know if you find any errors.
original title
Helicon
year of acquisition
2024
type of object
Audiovisual recording
credits
MACBA Collection. Barcelona City Council long-term loan
registration number
R.6717
date
2019
fonds
MACBA Collection. Long-term loan of the Barcelona City Council
media
Single-channel video, colour, sound, 6 min 13 s
Copyright
© Fito Conesa
original title
Helicon
registration number
R.6717
date
2019
year of acquisition
2024
fonds
MACBA Collection. Long-term loan of the Barcelona City Council
type of object
Audiovisual recording
media
Single-channel video, colour, sound, 6 min 13 s
credits
MACBA Collection. Barcelona City Council long-term loan
Copyright
© Fito Conesa
images
3 images
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