Paloma and Raúl in San Serriffe was installed at Powel House in Philadelphia from March 12 through April 4, 2010, and at the Vault at SPACES in Cleveland from May 2011 through October 21, 2011.
The result of a months-long collaboration with composer Michael McDermott (Mikronesia), and shot largely on 16mm film on location at the Powel House Museum in Philadelphia, Paloma and Raúl in San Serriffe stages a contemporary dance inside a 60s-inflected domestic drama. Using film and sound to situate Powel House in a fictional location and culture, the project erases the site's specific history and uses historic space as a generic template of civil and domestic unrest.
Paloma and Raúl in San Serriffe was an Independent Project of Philagrafika 2010, Philadelphia's international festival celebrating print in contemporary art, and was presented by the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks and Landmarks Exhibitions: Contemporary Projects.
PARISS is ...
Paloma: Guin Buchan Raúl: Andrew Prayzner Dancers: Lydia Adler Okrent and Strauss Bourque-LaFrance Voice: Oscar Molina
Crew: Joseph Kraemer, Alex Tyson, Chris Fernando, Haitao Guo, Ambarien Alqadar, and Michael Tom Vassallo
Music composed by Michael McDermott and performed by janus Sound mix by Donna Weinsteiger
Special thanks to Landmarks, curator Robert Wuilfe, and the beauty of Colonial-era paint colors. Thanks also to David Miranda Hardy for assistance with sound design and Jonathan Barr for recording.