Hannah Collins
La Mina
La Mina
La Mina, 2001-2004
Audiovisual installation
5 Simultaneous projections, 36min
Original footage 35mm
In 2001 Hannah Collins and her crew shot fourteen hours of 35mm footage in a large housing area in the city of Barcelona that is home to a substantial gypsy community. The resulting film moves between observational documentary and a more collaborative, performative approach. Several of the people depicted are acting, but they are portraying themselves. While certain moments are planned and staged, others are spontaneous happenings caught on film.
La Mina defies any single viewpoint. In this respect it resists the fixed and narrow depictions of contemporary gypsy life. Instead Collins builds a complex, intricate, rhythmic film organised around repeated motifs and the symbolism of city space itself. Far removed from the conventions of mainstream cinema and documentary film, La Mina presents the viewer with a seductive puzzle that is at once social, aesthetic, political and ethical.
David Campany
La Mina
En 2001, Hannah Collins y su equipo filmaron veinticuatro horas de metraje con película de 35 mm en una extensa zona de Barcelona habitada principalmente por la comunidad gitana. El film resultante se sitúa a medio camino etre el documental de observación y un enfoque más basado en la actuación y la colaboración. Aunque algunas escenas se planificaron y se interpretaron, otras son situaciones surgidas espontáneamente y captadas por la película.
La Mina huye de un punto de vista único. En este sentido, evita los retratos fijos y estrechos de miras sobre la vida actual de la comunidad gitana. En lugar de esto, Collins construye un film complejo, intrincado y rítmico basado en los movimientos repetitivos y el simbolismo de la propia ciudad. Alejándose de las pautas de cine y de los documentales convencionales, La Mina presenta a los espectadores un atractivo puzzle social, estético, politico y ético a la vez.
Related Texts
Read or download texts relating to the project using the links below. To find out more about this project contact the studio.
La Mina Texts by Hannah Collins PDF
Bird Land, The Street by Richard Noble PDF
La Mina by Robert Riley PDF
Currently Showing
Current History. Films and Fotographs
Obra Social Fundació « la Caixa », Barcelona
23 May to 24 August 2008
Solo exhibition featuring films and photographs from La Mina, Parallel and Current History. The exhibition continues it's tour in 2009 with shows in Madrid and Vitoria-Gasteiz. See the calendar for further details.
- Images from the exhibition (PDF 2.2Mb)
- Catalogue preview (PDF 4.5Mb)
- + Buy the catalogue
- + Exhibition website
