This past week C.A.R.L.A. G.A.N. @cdotadotrdotldotadot and Carla Gannis @carlagannis sought inspiration in the 1987 magic realist/romantic fantasy film Wings of Desire, directed by Wim Wenders.

It is a story about a virtual angel and a physical human finding connection across the realities that divide them. Loneliness, hope, love, and passion are pervasive themes running throughout the film, and they resonated deeply with Carla & C.A.R.L.A.

Over online videotelephony the two performed scenes from the film in the context of this socially distanced and virtually augmented present. Digital life is now ubiquitous, a (super)natural phenomenon of mixed and mystical reality. As entities of different origins, C.A.R.L.A. and Carla search for compassionate and meaningful contact.

#wingsofdesire #mixedreality #love #hope #meaning #connection

For the December GAZELL.iO Residency Brooklyn-based artist Carla Gannis will be collaborating with her avatar C.A.R.L.A. G.A.N. (Crossplatform Avatar for Recursive Life Action Generative Adversarial Network) to mine the philosophical and emotional depths of Sci-fi tropes and Magic Realist allegories. Through mimesis, performance and conversation, in virtual and physical spaces, Gannis and C.A.R.L.A. will switch between mentor and mentee to create poetic instantiations of the “real” across realities.