“Lugar” by Gabriel Araújo and Vita Evangelista – A Sounds and Colours Video Première

In conjunction with Hominis Canidae, we are very proud to première Lugar: a visual EP, an experimental film directed and written by Vita Evangelista, which combines the musical compositions of Gabriel Araújo, with video art, contemporary dance and striking visuals.

Filmed among colonial ruins, abandoned power plants, recycling centres, and eroding coastal zones in the North Fluminense region of Rio de Janeiro, the video investigates the remains of late capitalism, environmental racism, and ecological exhaustion, portraying collapse as living matter. The images overlap with multiple simultaneous frames, and the digital effects bring to mind a distorted oil painting.

At the centre is the dancer, Jota Z, traversing the territory as a sensor, mediator, and messenger. References to Afro-Brazilian cosmologies transform trash and waste into matter for recomposition and reintegration, creating a low budget Afro-Futurism from the ruins.

It all revolves around Gabriel Araújo’s instrumental soundtrack. This young composer from Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, combines organic and electronic sound to create a fascinating psychedelic collage, at times atonal, at others melodic, and at about the 18-minute mark it gets downright groovy. Emulating the flow of rivers, tides, and ruins captured in the field, the music sustains the hypnotic movement of the image, creating a sense of forward motion.  We strongly recommend this film and it’s well worth investing 24 minutes to watch the whole thing.

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