Barcelona is full of secret treasures. Video artists Mono and Peca are two that anyone would be fortunate to stumble upon. Originally from Plata, Argentina, these award-winning artists came to Barcelona nine years ago in search of a new way of life.
Ever since they were kids, they have been inventing and illustrating make-believe worlds and characters. Their latest surreal adventure, La Competitiva, uses over 30,000 photographs to show a topsy-turvy wooden horse and two eccentric factory workers following their free-roving imaginations through a gear and gadget-filled landscape.
The film’s scenery looks much like Mono and Peca’s home (aka their workspace), which Mono describes as “full of found objects, kinda like a dump in constant movement [and] definitely something worthy of stop-motion.” While Mono adds that the two aren’t “militant about the cause,” they have incorporated recycled items (furniture, clothes, objects, books, films) into their daily lives. “It is a form of giving a second opportunity to discarded items from the chain of consumption,” Mono adds.
From the backgrounds in their videos to the video storylines, the pair develops each aspect of their projects together. At times, this can be problematic, since they both always claim to be right. While they love the various facets of production, above all they enjoy what they learn and take away from the process. They hope that La Competitiva will “light up the left side of the brain” of those who see it.
Last year, La Competitiva was screened worldwide and picked up awards along the way. It will continue a screening tour hitting up the Lahore International Children’s Film Festival in Lahore, Pakistan in early September, the Krok International Animated Films Festival in Russia later on in the same month, and for those in Barcelona, will be part of the Mercé outdoor animation film screenings in the Born.
To get an early glimpse of the magic, check out the clip on telegraph21.
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