Private Project

TOTEM

TOTEM is the latest work by award-winning director Javier Ideami for multidisciplinary artist Wallace Chan. The short film complements Chan’s eponymous sculpture exhibition, which launched during the opening week of the 59th Venice Biennale. TOTEM represents the visual exploration of the sculptures, looking at the relationship and dialogue between materials, space and time - a central theme in Chan’s work. Specifically, TOTEM looks at our interaction with nature and how human activities can disrupt the world’s delicate balance. The short film takes us on a dynamic journey across space and time, in which Chan’s creations are continuously unassembled and reinvented, as a way to mirror the fragility that society is currently experiencing.

  • Javier Ideami
    Director
  • Cherry Rao
    Production assistance
  • James Putnam
    Screenplay
  • Javier Ideami
    Screenplay
  • Project Type:
    Web / New Media, Other
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 24, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    Spain
  • Country of Filming:
    Spain
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Venice Biennale - 2022
    Venice
    Italy
Director Biography - Javier Ideami

Javier Ideami is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, creative director, engineer and entrepreneur, working at the intersection of technology and art. His creations, that encompass a wide range of areas, from digital art and fine art photography, to augmented reality, interactive technology, artificial intelligence, music, filmmaking and beyond, have won awards and been shown at institutions, festivals and galleries worldwide, from the Venice Biennale in Italy, to the Ranjina Palace in Croatia, Stanford University in USA, the United Nations FAO HQ, the financial center of London, the International Cultural Diplomacy Conference in Berlin and many others venues around the world.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Artist’s Statement

“This exhibition is influenced by my personal journey of contemplation and curiosity about life, nature and the mysteries of the universe. I am interested in exploring the mystery of matter and form and understanding the distinctions between the imagined illusory space and real physical matter.” - Wallace Chan

Curator’s Statement

“As its title suggests, this exhibition relates to the fundamental principle of the totemism that there’s a shared spiritual relationship between humans and mother nature who must work together in order to sustain life. The calm, enigmatic face depicted in Chan’s sculpture is a mystical spirit, a form of totem that expresses the transcendental state of absolute oneness.” - James Putnam

Director’s Statement

“TOTEM combines advanced digital particle systems and programming with visual effects and audiovisual production and postproduction processes. I wanted to take the audience on a journey through a tapestry of dynamic scenes, a conceptual path expressed in virtual space and time, where fragmentation and integration serve as the poles of the audiovisual experience.” - Javier Ideami