MIKEL OTXOTEKO, Artist and researcher
Born in Donostia in 1981. Mikel Otxoteko carries out artistic research projects located at the intersection between history and experimental anthropology by means of image production. His doctoral thesis Audiovisual Arts and Neo-materialism (UPV-EHU) received an international mention with an invitation from filmmaker Manuel DeLanda as a visiting researcher at the Pratt Institute of Art & Design in New York.
He has developed projects such as Dance & Drill and Algunos cabos sueltos, leading to screenings and exhibitions in venues such as the Musée d’Art Contemporain Les Abattoirs in Toulouse, the Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporánea in Valencia and The Rag Factory, London.
His documentary film, Invierno (2019) was screened at international festivals such as Cinespaña, Toulouse and Zinebi, Bilbao. For his project Aquí hay dragones (Here be dragons), shown at the San Telmo Museum in San Sebastian, he has carried out artistic production residencies on the islands of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon and Puerto Rico supported by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Coastal Studies and the Sea Grant Programme, both of the University of Puerto Rico and the Basque Government.
This website has received support from the Department of Culture and Linguistic Policy of the Basque Government.
Installation with graphic documents and videos on cultural identity on the island of Saint Pierre. The ensemble highlights the colonial past of the archipelago and the weight that Basque culture still has today.
La Exposición Colonial Internacional de París de 1931 emplazó en una isleta del parque de Vincennes el Pabellón de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. El decorado creado idealizada fatalmente la identidad cultural de los Saintpierreses. Coincidiendo en el tiempo, Al Capone se desplazado en persona al archipiélago para convertir Saint-Pierre en un enorme almacén a través del cual canalizar hacia los Estados Unidos el alcohol de contrabando. Con ayuda de los vascos de Lapurdi, se levantaron para ello grandes construcciones de hormigón que aún hoy siguen en pie haciendo visible la verdadera historia. Esta pieza de vídeo propone una reflexión sobre el poder de las representaciones.
ZAZPIAK BAT, 2023, 11 min, HD video
The Zazpiak Bat was probably the first Basque pelota court built in America. A symbol of history and culture, linked to the European continent, it was erected by Basque sailors in 1897. Initially built of wood, it was destroyed due to internal conflicts at the beginning of the 20th century and later erected in concrete on the same site. Today men’s and women’s teams train daily and hold competitions.
Deportistas: Elodie Hebditch, Malika Plaa, Lora Perrin, Mélanie Janil
Cámara 1: Ione Atenea Lameiro
Cámara 2: Mikel Otxoteko
Realización: Mikel Otxoteko
Financiación: Gobierno Vasco y Museo San Telmo de Donostia