2023–2024
Celulo-ia was a CORFO-funded Pista B project carried out in 2023–2024 with Lucas Engel, Felipe Elgueta and Juan Cifuentes. My work as a researcher brought film archives, celluloid restoration and laboratory practice into dialogue with the project’s investigation of artificial intelligence.
The research considered different ways of preserving, restoring, copying and working with film, and the connections between archival practice, professional services and artist-run laboratories. These spaces do not all serve the same purpose; their different approaches are part of the investigation.
Celeste Rojas Mugica accompanied this research.
Institutions and laboratories
Filmwerkplaats — Rotterdam
Filmwerkplaats is an artist-run film collective and laboratory in Rotterdam. The visit formed part of the research into collective, hands-on ways of working with photochemical film.
EQZE — San Sebastián
Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE) is a postgraduate film school with a film laboratory. The research visit brought together the school’s educational setting and the practical work of its laboratory.
Labo L’Argent — Marseille
I visited Labo L’Argent, a collective film laboratory in Marseille, France, in 2024. Like Filmwerkplaats, it belongs to the network of artist-led spaces where photochemical knowledge, equipment and experimentation are shared.
Other research visits
The Cineteca Nacional de Chile in Santiago was another archival point of reference, with work in preservation, restoration and scanning rather than the role of a commercial laboratory. The investigation also included LABO, a professional laboratory in Mexico City.
The earlier research for Rey is documented separately. It precedes Celulo-ia and is not part of the CORFO-funded project’s 2023–2024 period.
The photographs are grouped by institution. Not every research visit is represented by photographs in this selection.