Pabellón Salvando Primates - Planetario Distrital 2023

Project Details

Saving Primates Pavilion – District Planetarium 2023

DESCRIPTION

The best way to define Saving Primates is like constructing a place from which to contemplate life and allow a different sensibility to emerge. We could say it is an installation about the world of the jungle. Yet, it is also an unexpected opportunity to reflect on the ultimate expression of life and to experience it through all the senses.

The project summarizes cemotions that move in multiple directions. We can immerse ourselves in the videos and images that Federico Pardo and his team have been recording over a long period across various national territories, as inhospitable as they are complex. From its staging, the installation does not look for a formal refinement; quite the opposite. It seeks to evoke a playful spirit, constructed from fabrics and layers that offer tactile and educational possibilities. This architecture of veils and transparencies defines the surface through an interplay of planes that reveal themselves as the body moves.

Without a doubt, there is beauty in the essential, in the approach of experiencing the interconnectedness and coexistence of life forms that lies at the heart of the research: giving a voice to other sentient beings that claim their space and their vital need for preservation, for the sake of both their own existence and of their habitat.

The force of argument, summarized in the powerful imagery of the life of primates in the jungle, prompts us to reflect on the privilege of inhabiting such a lush, vibrant environment, while also highlighting how misunderstood that world is by society. The experience unfolds as a blend of knowledge and sensory, audiovisual elements, structured into four stages that follow the narrative of a journey into the jungle. The station, the great wall, and the tunnel are spaces where an energy, sometimes communal, sometimes intimate, comes alive; one moves through immersive environments that gradually open up, leading to an almost magical revelation: the voice of the primates.
There is a hard-to-process feeling after confronting images like these, at once deeply moving and raw, a kind of intangible grief. While the narrative does not aim to provide answers, it helps us identify the right questions regarding what is unfolding in the region, offering us a chance to break free from a dark indifference. At times, the power of the imagery, sounds, and projections seems to transport us to a place where the energy and vitality of these living beings remind us that we are part of a greater whole. In doing so, we gain a sensitive appreciation for an inescapable principle of science communication: no one can care for what they do not know.

This project would not have been possible without the perseverance of Federico Pardo and his ability to summon a group of voices as diverse between technicians, lighting technicians, editors, musicians, biologists, primatologists, producers, architects, designers… a family.
His first roaming in Bogotá newly-ends, but others will come very soon.

Special thanks to all the Yemail Architecture team, Martin Jímenez, Santiago Baquero and Daniel Molina. G2 advertising, and to Ejecutar Designs.

DETAILS

Use

Pavilion

Duration

2 months and 12 days

Attendees

8,500

Second life

All proceeds from tickets were donated to a conservation project
Re-used chairs and fabric in the “Leo por Naturaleza” Pavilion FILBO 2024

Area

270 m²

Location

Bogotá District Planetarium – Colombia

Meters above sea level

2625 meters

Year

2023

Design

Yemail Architecture

Project team

Antonio Yemail + Martín Jiménez

Construction

Hernan Medrano

Client

Trópico media

Leadership

Federico Pardo

General production

Rocío Alarcón and Laura Feged

Executive production

Juan Carlos Tavera and Federico Pardo

Logistics production

Claudia Manosalva Cely

Graphic design

Andrea Peralta

Audiovisual production

Tecnorental

Photo credits

Matthew Perez + Jefferson Cardoso

Categories: 1.1 Pavilions, Culture