“Fiesta” is an expanded cinema installation. It tells a story about a car, a criminal, a dreamer and a cynic, each of them having their role to play in the death of the protagonist. Originating from a screenplay, the installation seeks to give agency back to the audience by removing the chronology of a film’s timeline. There’s no beginning or end, only fragments, and exploring each will expose more of the story.
“Fiesta” presents animatronic talking mouths and a disembodied hand, ceaselessly ashing a cigarette, in a set. With a floor to ceiling projection of computer generated animations as its backdrop, a video work presented on a CRT screen opposite, and a soundscape filling the room, the installation creates a space where everything happens at once, priming the viewer for active observation and encouraging them to shift perspectives and practice empathy.
Finn Stevenhagen is an interdisciplinary artist who uses computer animation, scenography and animatronics to explore humanity through fictional narratives. Characters inherit empathy through the fidelity of their animator. As artificial forms, computer generated or animated by motors, Finn’s characters are pushed to encounter the limits of what emotions their bodies can perform. By juxtaposing a character’s limited ability of expression with their desire to do just that, Finn creates strangely human figures that mirror us more closely than we expect.
finnstevenhagenfilm.weebly.com
Ruimtevaart, Helena van Doeverenplantsoen 3, 2512 ZB The Hague,
entrance corner Glasblazerslaan/Lange Beestenmarkt.