PERENNIAL LAND and QUALIA Installations to Show at Mana Contemporary

Experience the latest two immersive video and sound installations 'Perennial Land - The Data Forest' and 'Qualia - You Matter to Me' by of Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger, until June 28, 2025 at Mana Contemporary as part of the Voices International Festival. The exhibition is free and open to the public, and we will have an artist talk on June 27 at 2:30pm. It is on view until June 28, 2026 | Wed-Fri: 4-7pm and by appointment | Sat-Sun: 1-5pm.
 

'Qualia - You Matter to Me'

by Laia Cabrera & Isabelle Duverger
2023, Experimental Film and Three-Channel Immersive Cinematic Installation, UltraHD 8K, color, sound, 10 min.

Qualia - You Matter to Me is an immersive cinematic installation drawing on the philosophical notion of qualia, the felt properties of experience and the essence of being phenomenally conscious. Conceived as a visual poem and immersive cinematic experience, the work reflects on our longing for connection through nature, symbolism, vulnerability, and hope. The installation unfolds in five interconnected segments-Qualia, You, Matter, To, and Me-each introduced through verse, guiding audiences on an emotional and sensory journey through consciousness, time, and the ways we inhabit the world.

At the center of the work lies the gaze: gravitational, intimate, and transformative. Solitude gives way to a fragile form of connection. The smallest gestures, a searching glance, a moment of waiting, art as a mirror of life and its rituals, the multiplicity of the self, a body suspended between falling and balance, become metaphors for vulnerability, transformation, and resilience.

Directed by Laia Cabrera & Isabelle Duverger
Original Concept and Script by Laia Cabrera
Featuring Performing Artist Catherine Correa
Original Music by Nana Simopoulos | Lyrics and Songs by Erica Glyn
Produced by Laia Cabrera & Co.

This work is made possible through the support of the Individual Fellowship Grant Awards provided by the Jersey City Arts Council and the Jersey City Arts & Culture Trust Fund

More info: https://www.laiacabreraco.com/qualia

"Perennial Land - The Data Forest"

by Laia Cabrera & Isabelle Duverger
2024, Immersive Video Installation, UltraHD 8K, color, sound, 12 min.

Perennial Land - The Data Forest is an experiential installation focused on care and climate justice that immerses us into the beauty of Earth's landscapes and awakens us to the importance of data-driven insights into our impact on nature. Stepping into a space transformed into a multi-climate forest, tech and tools about resources and equity are seamlessly integrated into the environment like trees.

Combining visual poetry, cutting-edge technology, and data-driven storytelling, this immersive experience encourages us to reflect on our role in addressing climate change. We want to push aside the modern habit of thinking of nature-culture divide, decolonize technology and highlight the ways landscape contributes to social, political and psychic ideas of space. The vulnerability of the environment is directly related to that of certain communities.