Welcome to Elusive Landscape

Elusive Landscape was presented at five outdoor locations across Miami from June to October 2010. This work consists of multiple hand-crafted 16mm films depicting the forms and colors of natural landscapes projected directly into the landscapes themselves. All events were free and open to the public.

Artist Dinorah de Jesús Rodriguez brings to this project over 30 years’ experience in hand-crafted 16mm filmmaking, as well as a history of moving image installation, including several works which have included projections in the outdoors. Her work is exhibited internationally in film festivals, museums, galleries, independent venues and public spaces, and she has received numerous grants, fellowships and residency awards for her work.

Unique soundscapes for each site were created by composer and sound designer Ricardo Lastre, best recognized for his work with Las Negras Performance Ensemble, Lucia Aratanha, Giovanni Luquini Performance Troupe, Akropolis Acting Company and the late Jennylin Duany.


Following the five outdoor installations, there will be an exhibition at Diaspora Vibe Gallery showing the films as well as the filmstrips themselves, and a video documenting the entire process of creating and exhibiting this work.

Elusive Landscape: Miami

Photo Catalogue of Highlights from Elusive Landscape

Thursday, June 17, 2010

PHOTOS FROM ARCH CREEK PARK: The Process


Setting up before sunset. The crew worked tirelessly in spite of gnats, no-see-ums and mosquitoes, not to mention the heat and humidity. Luckily, the artist-made insect repellent kept us from being devoured to bits...


The artist checks the film to make sure it is right-side up and the tape splices are holding up.


This colorful projection was situated at the end of the Military Trail in the campfire area near the Tequesta shell mounds.


As the night grew darker, the effect of the projections became more dramatic and the imagery more identifiable.


Projections like this one were hidden in small clearings where the Military Trail branches off into the forest. Visitors had to hike the trail to find all seven of them.

Photography by Luis Olazabal, Blue Jazz Photo

Monday, June 14, 2010

Elusive Landscape: Arch Creek Park ~ Wow!



THANK YOU to everyone who helped to make the event at Arch Creek Park as spectacular and magical as it turned out. I am especially grateful to the incredible installation crew - they were like animals in the jungle, stretching cables and speaker wires through the forest. Like having a couple of Indiana Jones's on the set, it was amazing to watch them at work. I also want to extend an immense thank-you to the elusive yet tireless Park Manager at Arch Creek Park: Ms. Sally Timberlake. Her wholehearted support and cheerful attitude really helped to get the project off the ground.

The soundscape by Ricardo Lastre is amazing - it was hard to figure out where nature ended and the recording began. Ricardo threw together a mashup of eerie and dark sound effects mixed with light urban pop and tribal insinuations, layered with frogs and snails and puppydog tails... I'm sure that this helped tremendously in making people want to hang around and endure the climate. But I am grateful to all who fully surrendered to the experience and truly enjoyed the event. This was definitely art you had to sweat for - the trek up and down the Military Trail to see all of the seven projections was long and dark, and many people covered it more than once, searching for missed clues. The projections were kind of hidden in the forest, so it was like a treasure hunt adventure, out in the woods at night. You had to cover the trail to discover all seven. It was very playful.

Everybody was delighted, and a group of folks from the Arch Creek Trust were extremely interested and supportive, as they have been on a mission to preserve the park and to call attention to the contamination of Arch Creek for many years. They were especially pleased that many newcomers had visited the park for the first time that night. My home-made, all-natural, non-toxic insect repellent was a big hit (and it worked!) and overall the event went as i had hoped: kids, families, people with dogs, park regulars, artists, everybody somehow enjoying the evening in spite of the bugs, the heat and the incredible humidity.

Can't wait to do it again at Legion Memorial Park on July 17 - a whole different kind of experience, given the fact that Legion Park is a whole different kind of park than Arch Creek. Stay tuned for more news and updates on the next installation of Elusive Landscape... coming to a park near you SOON!