Film installation ‘The Great Lie of Death’

‘The Great Lie of Death’ is brought to MACBA by Wu Tsang, an American film director who also works as a performance artist. The filmmaker explores the themes of ‘Carmen’, delving into the myths that run through it. Themes such as flamenco and bullfighting form the context for misogyny, racial or class discrimination, as well as criminality. All of this is analysed through the spectacle of death staged by Wu Tsang.

The film installation arrives at MACBA as a site-specific work with multichannel sound. The viewer becomes involved in Carmen’s journey towards freedom, which is the same journey towards death. Therefore, reflection on this phenomenon is imminent.

The work was filmed in Seville and seeks to illustrate the different adaptations that have arisen from the myth of ‘Carmen’. The fiction takes place amid one of history’s most contested landscapes.

The performers Rocío Molina with José ‘El Oruco’ will take part in performing the work, alongside Yinka Esi Graves, Tosh Bosco and Vanessa Montoya. The multichannel sound and the precision of the cameras will turn MACBA into Seville itself, creating the immersive effect and the illusion that the artists are really dancing in front of you.