Gravidade (Gravity) | Carlos Motta

4K, 16:9, video, sound, color; 14”28’; 2024

Gravity is a two-part project composed of a fragmented graphite drawing and a 14-minute video. The drawing depicts a scorched landscape where hundreds of humans urgently care for one another. The figures attentively hold, carry, and drag each other, visibly dealing with the weight of the bodies but determined to help each other persist amidst a dry desert where only a few patches of green grass suggest the hope of survival. Conceived as a performance score, the drawing was used by Motta and eight local performers to produce a video that builds upon the themes of care, endurance, weight, gravity, and survival.

Developed in close collaboration with the performers and shot in a studio, the work presents a sequence of performative actions where the performers find cautious and tender ways to hold, carry, and endure the weight of their bodies for as long as they are able, creating scenes of sustained endurance. Set to an electronic musical soundtrack designed by Rio de Janeiro-based sound artist Luisa Lemgruber, Gravidade asks the question: What does it take to support a life?