DEMETER
Single-channel video or adaptable spatial installation 

Brazil, 2026 - Color, sound, 5'49"

Creation, image and sound design
Paulo Coqueiro

Spatial installation, adaptable to site

DEMETER can be presented as a single-channel video or as a spatial installation. In its installation form, the film extends into the exhibition space through a sculptural wall built from stacked cardboard boxes, turning the room into a temporary landscape of stock and storage. The image is projected onto the surface of this wall, and the seams, textures and irregularities of the cardboard become part of the image itself. Rather than functioning as a conventional screen, the wall operates simultaneously as sculpture, architecture and projection surface, giving material density to landscapes that engage with the tradition of Brazilian landscape painting. Additional boxes may be dispersed throughout the space, creating a field of interrupted circulation that evokes warehouses, storage systems and agricultural infrastructure. The installation investigates how landscapes are turned into commodity, monument and cultural memory.

In this form, the work is site-responsive: the wall, the number of boxes and their dispersion are reconfigured to the architecture and conditions of each venue. The installation is optional; DEMETER can always be presented as single-channel video. 

Installation view / Simulation of the installation. Specify which. 

DEMETER  Technical Installation Sheet 

1. Projection wall

18 cardboard boxes in a 6 × 3 grid (standing orientation, 40 × 60 cm each)

Total wall dimensions: 2.40 m × 1.80 m (4:3)

Boxes placed edge to edge, forming a continuous surface starting at floor level

Boxes fixed to one another and to the wall for stability and alignment

Scalable module: rows and columns can be added or removed to fit the space

2. Projection

Video: DEMETER, single-channel, 16:9, color, sound, 5'49", played in loop

Image covers the full wall, respecting the box grid. The 16:9 video is [cropped / reframed / pillarboxed] to fit the 4:3 wall

Ceiling-mounted projector, centered on the wall, frontal and perpendicular. Alternative: projector on a pedestal or floor stand, using lens shift

Alignment via physical positioning and lens shift, avoiding digital keystone correction

Minimum projector brightness: [X lumens], depending on ambient light

3. Projection distance

Distance = wall width (2.40 m) × projector throw ratio, confirmed against the available projector and the assigned space

4. Audio

Stereo sound through speakers / headphones], level adjusted to the space

Media player with looped playback

5. Scattered boxes

Approximately 10 additional boxes distributed asymmetrically across the floor, some tilted or overturned

Not part of the projection wall; public circulation remains unobstructed

6. Space requirements

Minimum area: to be confirmed based on the assigned space

Wall footprint: 2.40 m wide × 1.80 m high, plus structural clearance above

7. Infrastructure

Electrical outlet and cable routing (preferably concealed) to the projector

Ceiling anchor point compatible with projector weight, or a floor/pedestal alternative

Reduced or controllable ambient lighting in the projection area

8. Fabrication and installation

Standard corrugated cardboard boxes, 40 × 60 × 30 cm, [plain / digitally printed]

Approximately 28 boxes in total (18 for the wall, about 10 dispersed)

Boxes can be fabricated locally by the venue or by the artist on site

Installation time: approximately two days

Project Description

In its installation form, DEMETER is conceived as a site-responsive work. It combines a single-channel video projection with a sculptural wall constructed from stacked cardboard boxes, transforming the exhibition space into a temporary landscape of storage and circulation. The projected image occupies the wall, while a limited number of additional boxes are dispersed throughout the space, creating a field of interrupted circulation and temporary storage.

The reference configuration is a wall of 18 boxes in a 6 × 3 grid (2.40 × 1.80 m; see Technical Sheet). The module is scalable: rows and columns can be added or removed, and the dispersed boxes are defined on site, according to the architecture, circulation and lighting of each venue.

The wall functions simultaneously as sculpture, architecture and projection surface. The projected image covers the entire wall, allowing the seams, textures and irregularities of the cardboard to become part of the image itself. Rather than functioning as a conventional screen, the surface gives material density and visual roughness to landscapes that engage with the tradition of Brazilian landscape painting.

The installation is derived from the experimental video DEMETER (5'49"), developed from historical Brazilian landscape painting through digital montage and compositing. By projecting these altered landscapes onto a structure associated with storage and circulation, the installation shifts the landscape from representation to infrastructure, where territory is experienced as commodity and archive.

The dispersed boxes evoke warehouses, storage systems and agricultural infrastructure, while the projected images reveal the visual regimes that have historically shaped these territories. The installation activates associations with storage, industrial production and agricultural economies, allowing the exhibition space itself to become an active component of the work.

Previous installation-based projects combining moving image, archival photographs, objects and spatial environments include O Jardim de Luís Dias (MAB, Brazil, 2024) and Não Minta Pra Mim (Photolux Biennale, Italy, 2019; Lianzhou International Photography Festival, China, 2018–2019; CdF, Uruguay, 2018).

The installation requires one video projector, a media player, electrical access and structural support for fixing the cardboard wall. Boxes are fabricated locally from standard corrugated cardboard, and installation takes approximately two days.

Project Documentation

The project statement and the atlas of visual references gather fragments of the historical visual repertoire that informed the construction of landscape, monument and territory in DEMETER. 

Portfolio of Paulo Coqueiro 

PDF featuring the artist's main works.