DESTABLISHING SHOTS II
4 minutes, 9 seconds (2007)
Destablishing Shots, whose title was derived from the filmic term “establishing shot” (a camera shot often used to open a narrative sequence and indicate where and when it takes place), initially consisted of a series of 23 shots of various buildings and houses in Panama City.
At first glance, the shots do not seem to involve anything more than the careful framing of the houses and buildings, but their impossible (though not absolute) symmetry gradually becomes evident. The result is a disturbing portrait of a city that has been intervened and altered (a direct reference to the current Panamanian building construction boom, which has been fueled primarily by American and Spanish real estate speculation, and is drastically transforming the city in a rapid, chaotic manner.). The ambient sound, strangely devoid of people or vehicles, combined with a Muzak-like version of Panamá Viejo (a classic Panamanian tune which ponders on feelings inspired by the ruins of the old colonial city of Panama, founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1519 and destroyed by British pirates in 1671), also contribute to the video’s dreamlike atmosphere.
This second version of the video (exhibited for the first time at the 52 Venice Biennial) features a new opening, in which a female computer voice recites the lyrics to the aforementioned song. In order to make the anglophone computer recite in Spanish, I had to translate the text phonetically (this phonetic translation appears on the screen as the text is recited). As a result, the song’s nostalgic lyrics are delivered with a thick gringo accent.