Huo by Alieno deBootes

... back to HUO

i clearly remember me staring aghast in front of the TV set watching all the reportages from the 1989 Tienanmen Square riots in Beijing. It was really hard for me to look at the scenes as much as decide to turn off the television ... it was like i had to be there at least in spirit ... obviously safe enough in an old Europe afternoon to avoid bullets and the tanks, but ... deeply broken at heart.

I also remember that as soon as i left the living room i felt that i HAD to translate into sounds my deep sorrow for what i had just saw. So I turned on my sound equipment available at the time and began recording what soon became some sort of a threnody for the people who died there while simply asking for more freedom. At first it was a six-pieces composition but very soon I decided to shorten it to just five actual movements.

Few days after i met my dear friend and visual artist CLAUDIA BONOLLO for preparing an audio/video multimedial event project we were expected to perform in very soon. We both immediately shared compassion for what we saw in Beijing and with no hesitation we decided to dedicate such multimedial performance to the Tienanmen Square tragic events.

We chose to work with three TV monitors and a proper sound audio set up. Two of the three screens were on the sides of the main one to form some sort of a pyramid. On the two lateral screens we put a videotaped Claudia dripping live red painting on an immacolate white canvas that was becoming more and more "flooded/blooded" with the great amount of acrylic that was falling on it. At the very end there was no trace of white, and only a disturbing blobulent dripping red crust was left to see.
In the central monitor we put a simple chinese writing "大火" (Grande Fuoco/Great Fire) while burning down to ashes in slow motion.

We actually performed "HUO/Grande Fuoco" on june 30th 1989 at Sale Espositive Comunali in Mestre. It was the one and only performance of that project, although "Huo" - one of the tracks featured in the soundtrack - became one of the composition mostly played live in my live solo (& band) performances from then on.

Special thanks to Claudia Bonollo for her friendship and visual guiding light.

As a bonus track with this New Explora digital issue there is also a 2019 home live rendition of the main track "Huo" ... 30 years later.

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