miguel soares

Cabinet d’Amateur
Sala do Veado 1990-2010

July 22 – Oct 03, 2010

Sala do Veado
Museu Nacional de História Natural
Lisbon, Portugal

exhibited work: Liine 2007 (1 image)

SpaceJunk
curated by Luis Serpa

July 22 > September 12, 2001
2001: Time Odissey
Sala do Veado, Museu Nacional de História Natural
Lisbon, Portugal

exhibited works:
SpaceJunk beta 1.0 (3D animation)
SpaceJunk prints (2001) : 15 images

04′42”
2001
audio: (monaural) NASA, mission Apollo 11 to the moon, 1969

SpaceJunk beta 1.0 is a 3d animation about the ring of man-made debris that orbits our planet and has been growing since the early 1950’s.
The Sound used, astronauts from the Apollo 11 mission to the moon describing the objects inside the spaceship is now transposed to the objects outside in space.
More than 2000 3d model objects were collected from the internet in order to compose the animation, thus describing a virtual orbit around the earth and into my computer.
.
“L’homme pense que les cieux qui entourent sa demeure sont un endroit paisible, proche du néant.
Cette idée est terriblement fausse, car l’espace est tout sauf vide.
Des débris de toutes tailles flottent partout, en orbite autour de la Terre.
Avec l’exploration de l’espace, la multiplication des satellites représente un risque calculé dans la
mesure où ceux qui les envoient là-haut calculent les probabilités pour que le satellite ne rentre
pas en collision avec quelque chose dássez gros pour l’abîmer, voire le détruire.
La vidéo SpaceJunk beta 1.0, réalisée par le jeune artiste portugais Miguel Soares, met en scène
dans des images de synthèse un anneau virtuel composé de satellites et d’objects divers
(canettes de coca-cola, bijoux, etc)”.
Nicolas Trembley. In Abstraction, surface, Air.
Bureau des Videos/Georges/Centre Georges Pompidou. Paris, June 2002

Unlovable
curated by Pedro Cabral Santo

November 23 > December 21, 2000
Sala do Veado, Museu Nacional de História Natural
Lisbon, Portugal

174×129cm
2000
c print
(text by Pedro Cabral Santo)

made for Unlovable, Sala do Veado, Museu Nacional de História Natural, Lisbon, Portugal

Espaço 1999
curated by Pedro Cabral Santo, Gilberto Reis & Miguel Soares

December 22, 1999 > January 20, 2000
Museu Nacional de História Natural
Lisbon, Portugal

exhibited works: Gustavo

invitation front

exhibition view

variable dimentions
1999
junk bag, motorized arm, laser pointer
This is version 1 of Gustavo, made for Espaço 1999, Museu Nacional de História Natural, Lisbon

A junk bag is appently carving a drawing on a wall with a red laser beam.
Gustavo is a yellow junk bag out of which cames a motorized arm with a laser pointer that apparently is
carving a near-circular drawing on the wall through a near-circular continuous movement.
Of course, I previously have carved the drawing on the wall, according to the line described by the laser.
Gustavo stands for the name of the hypothetical disposed robot.
“Do androids dream of electric sheep?” * Would robot-artists carve drawings on a wall?”

* (title of the Philip K. Dick book on which the movie Blade Runner was based)

Biovoid
curated by Alexandre Estrela

August 07 > 31, 1998
Sala do Veado – Museu Nacional de História Natural
Lisbon , Portugal

exhibited work: Barney Online Slipgate Remix

exhibition view: Juian La Verdiere (front), Miguel Soares (back)

1996-1998

For two years I was a member and one of the leaders of a Quake TeamFortress internet Clan.

This work was presented in three forms:
-Barney Online (1997) video projection, stereo sound, 180′ presented at Observatório, Madrid, February 1998
-Barney Online – Slipgate Remix (1998) Video Projection, stereo sound, 6′45” presented at Biovoid, Sala do Veado, Museu Nacional de História Natural, Lisbon. August 1998
-As a work for the Antropology class: Quake TeamFortress: Aproximação a uma comunidade virtual, June 1998, 74 pgs. and VHS tapes, with Professor Dr. J.A. Fernandes Dias.

Barney Online is the record of a series of virtual performances of my character, 5Q.Barney, in the world of the internet game Quake TeamFortress.
After one year as Barney, I became first a member (by invitation), then 1st. advisor, and later, one of the 5 leaders of the largest and oldest active Quake clan in Portugal at the time: the 5Q Clan, that reached 32 members (5Q stands for 5 Quinas, as symbol of a good defense, present as well in the portuguese flag).
The global Quake community meets everyday in thousands of different locations (servers) where they chat, interact and kill each other.
Most of this comunity joins clans of 10 to 40 members. Admission into a clan is very difficult -requiring skill, morality and an understanding of each clan’s hierarchy and rules. Lastly, approval from the clan leader, founders or council is necessary. Matches between clans often include thorough preparation of attack and defense tactics. Skins (the character’s physical appearance) and maps are built by the community and sent to the servers, becoming available to everyone.
Quake TeamFortress is extremely violent, yet establishes friendships amongst its participants.

Jamba

May 09 > 31, 1997
Sala do Veado, Museu Nacional de História Natural
Lisbon, Portugal

exhibited work: Heaven’s Gate

1997
variable dimentions

air extractors, satin, sneakers, 2 doors, motion detector , walkman, speakers, motorized projector (JBSystems Techno).
made for Jamba, Sala do Veado, Museu Nacional de História Natural, Lisbon

Heaven’s Gate 1997 Heaven’s Gate was made as a reaction to the mass suicide of the Heaven’s Gate cult members in the Santa Fe Ranch, San Diego, California, on March 26th, 1997.
The members believed they would take a ride on a spaceship that was coming right behind the passing-by Hale-Bopp comet. The spaceship would transport them into another planet.
The bodies were found with ready-to-go packed luggage. But what intrigued me was that all the corpses were covered with sheets of purple satin fabric, and were wearing the same model of Nike sneakers (the “Just do it!” brand).
In the Heaven’s Gate installation, I tried to re-create the moment in which the bodies are teleported to the spaceship. Two air extractors with motion detectors give the effect of disappearing bodies by inflating and de-inflating the two satin sheets. Due to the East Timor issues, Portugal was not importing “Made in Indonesia” products at the time, so I was not able to get the Nike sneakers. Instead, I bought two pairs made in the north of Portugal, that imitated Adidas (the stripes) and with a puma printed i n the back. Two light-gray doors (gates) were used as beds.

Heaven’s Gate cult, Santa Fe Ranch, San Diego. Dead cult members and an image found on the internet.

OTHER VERSIONS of Heaven’s Gate were made:
1998 >version 2 at Heaven’s Gate – Project Room, ARCO’98, Parque Ferial Juan Carlos I, Madrid
2001 > version 3 at 321m2, CAPC, Coimbra, Portugal