Fulguration s.f. Heat lightning. A flash of lightning produced by electricity in the atmosphere where thunder is too distant to be audible. / Flash, shine, quick twinkling / Med. The destruction of living tissue by electric sparks generated by a high-frequency current or by lightning.

Translation of the entry in the Dicionário enciclopédico Koogan Larousse.

In this 10 monitor video installation, several images of neon signs and light boxes of commercial brands combine and interact – but not necessarily coincide – with real audio recordings of crashed airplanes’ black boxes.

The conceptual process is based on the idea of a desire to rise (conveyed by images) and the subsequent fall (conveyed by sound). From this point forward, the artist brings into play longings, fears and collective imagination. The trashy way in which the video is installed is a consequence of the call to consume more illustrated in its contents.

The images were captured in the late afternoon and at dusk, while the sound records the moments just before the crash. The frames are mostly low angle views, directed towards the top of neighbouring buildings (a hint to a series of aspirations, power relations and identity constructions). A multifarious roofscape is made visible consisting of metallic structures, scaffolding, TV antennas (standard and parabolic), mobile phone network antennas, video surveillance cameras, decorative architectural elements, chimneys and birds.

The soundtrack was downloaded from the internet. Intentionally, the lighted signs correspond to 9 foreign international brands and 1 important local firm. The total number of 10 alludes to the fingers with which we humans touch, secure and handle things and also organize our numerical thinking. The signs belong to different categories of consumer goods and services that characterize a certain way of life, and a set of real or imaginary needs.

This video installation works as a metaphor for contemporary economical, social, cultural and political systems.