miguel soares

Miguel Soares 1996
solo exhibition

November 08 > 28, 1996
Galeria Monumental
Lisbon, Portugal

(above, image from the invitation – detail)

exhibited works:

• Psi 03
• untitled  (minimoon)
• 6 images, Duratrans on lightboxes, 50×70 cm each
• untitled (Elvis)
• Your mission is a Failure
• untitled (Sterilair)
• Gingko (with João Vaz Ribeiro)
• Rex (by Alexandre Estrela)

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this work was presented in two versions:
>Your Mission is a Failure, 1996, video projection, stereo sound, 56 min.
>Your Mission is a Failure (ICTM97 edit), 1997, video projection, light box, psychadelic sensor, stereo sound, 25 min.

Your Mission is a Failure consists of a series of virtual performances – recorded on video – taking place inside the worlds of early 3d computer games for pc.
The performances consist of continuously dying (thus the title, taken from the computer game Command & Conquer message when the game is over), or, using hacking tricks, becoming imortal,
exploring and passing the virtual boundaries of the game architectural set, or even making music during the gameplay.
All the performances were transfered live to video using a Creative TV Coder, under Windows 95.
Games used include: MechWarrior 2, Dark Forces, Doom, Descent 2, Duke Nukem 3d.

In 1997, I made a shorter version of the video, and used a psychadelic lightbox from my 1996 solo show.
This box was placed in the middle of the projection area and would react to the video and ambient sound through light patterns.

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Your mission is a failure: Dark Forces

1. attacking a sculpture. 02′08”
2. invisible floor in the vacuum of space. 01′44”
3. jamming the door. 03′07”
4. invulnerable, jumping with the aid of land mines. 03′24”

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Your mission is a failure: Duke Nukem 3D

1. playing pool with guns. 01′16”
2. invulnerable, creating a grid of laser beams inside a theater with laser detection bombs. 04′28”
3. using the shrinking gun on a dancer. 01′52”
4. invulnerable, underwater. floating laser detection bombs. 02′27”

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Your mission is a failure: MechWarrior II

part 1
1. ejecting, aborting mission. 02′57”
2. explosions in the dark, and self-destructing an_invulnerable mech. 01′37”
3. leaving the defined mission zone. 04′01”

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Your mission is a failure: MechWarrior II

part 2
1. invulnerable, taking hits. 01′42”
2. looking right and left to the rhythm of the steps. 02′44”
3. leaving the defined mission zone II. 03′43”

variable dimentions
motion detector, Minimoon projector, rotating directional lights, Eastern PC speakers, Walkman, audio cassete.

40×40 cm, 30×40 cm, 30×30 cm

6 images, Duratrans on lightboxes, 50×70 cm

made for Miguel Soares 1996 solo exhibition

untitled (miniland2)

untitled (pool)

untitled (hogan)

untitled (dolphin)

untitled (vrt)

untitled (snow)

view

Projection on the gallery window.
Gingko Biloba, plexyglas aquarium, agar-agar gel, JB Systems Techno projector, black screen.
made with João Vaz Ribeiro.

Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Portugal

October 17 > November 16, 1996
Galeria Marie-Louise Wirth
Zürich, Switzerland

exhibited work:

• 3 lightboxes from the 1994 solo show
• untitled (Pilot inverted), 1990

70 cm wide each

made for Companhia de Dança de Lisboa magazine.

Miguel Soares 1990-1996
curated by Xana

July 13 > August 16, 1996
Edifício ANJE
Faro, Portugal

exibited works:

• untitled (Pilot inverted), 1990
• Spok (v2), 1991
• untitled (squares), untitled (taurus), untitled (arts) from 1992 solo show, 1992
• untitled (cabinets v2), 1993
• Copyright Law, 1994
• 6 untitled lightboxes and two pieces of “furniture” from 1994 solo show, 1994
• psi v (nas), 1995
• untitled (BMW), 1995
• Technocell, 1995
• untitled (VR Trooper), 1996

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invitation

ARCO’96
Galeria Monumental

February, 1996
Parque Ferial Juan Carlos I
Madrid, Spain

exhibited works:

• untitled (technocell)
• untitled (A to B)

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Greenhouse Display

January 12 > February, 1996
Estufa Fria
Lisbon, Portugal

exhibited works: untitled (VR Trooper)

130×250x250 cm
made for Greenhouse Display, Estufa Fria, Lisbon

VR Trooper 1996 A metal cylinder erects from the fresh turf. Inside the cylinder, through a red plexyglas, and under a strobbing light, one can see a rotating toy robot (VR Trooper) in a frame-by-frame kind of motion. The cylinder is meant to be an observation point for the trooper, that probably would erect from time to time, at diferent locations for routine observations. VR Trooper was made for the Greenhouse display exhibition, in 1996, that took place in a greenhouse in Lisbon, and was focused on ecological issues.