Diego Barrera has directed a new short film for Bernard Grancher‘s “Assemblée Lunaire” featuring Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab). We first ran across the Chilean artist’s fascinating work with the video for Xiu Xiu‘s cover of the Twin Peaks’ classic “Into The Night.” Barrera’s experimental media work is aimed squarely at combating totalitarian political and religious regimes in Latin America, and this newest effort is no exception.
On the track “L’immodere bien-être de l’imbécile,” which translates from the French as “The immoderate well-being of the fool,” Grancher, Sadier, and additional vocal guests Nina Savary and Emmanuel Mario, wryly critique consumers’ capitulation to Capitol’s distracting powers. In turn, an appraisal of Power’s need to distract consumers from their more pressing existential issues, Barrera directs his critique against the repressive powers of religion and government.
The video opens with bold text declaring: “Against sacred books as manipulation instruments,” “Against military repression and state terrorism happening in Latin America,” and “Against all absolute truth.” A powerful introduction, what follows is a deeply mysterious work that continues Barrera’s exploration of notions like “Sacred Transvestism” and “Hierogamy,” as well as the artist’s exploration of androgynous god-forms from the annuals of mythological history.
“Assemblée Lunaire” creates a dream-like atmosphere filled with a rich symbology that draws from this history. Filmed in Chile, Columbia, and Japan, and starring Mappo Klampaiboon and Diego Barrera, the artist’s blending of male and female principles explores not only “transit” and “journey,” but the “twilight of the patriarchs.” Invoking the “Hyper-Androgynous” as a response against the false morality of the Power/Capitol structure, Barrera declares communion with “Friedrich Nietzsche and his Übermensch / Beyond-Man {where the dominance of reactive forces was sought}.” Heady and occult in the best of ways, this is a work also capable of impressing itself deeply onto the Psyche.
Below, you can watch Diego Barrera’s video for “Assemblée Lunaire.” Additionally, after the embed, we’ve included the artist’s descriptive text which provides further insight into the intentions behind the work…
