Lost in Translation (1994-99), 6:00 mins, Sydney/Brazil/Karlsruhe.

“The double movement of displacement and circulation, loss and regeneration, constitutes a means of uncovering the disjunction between history and memory [in Latin America].” -[Charles Merewether]

‘Lost in Translation’ takes elements from Brazilian political and religious history and sets them in a stage-like landscape in which it appears they will intercede or collide with each other. ‘Part 1’ deals with the events leading up to the ‘discovery’ and colonisation of Brazil. Brazil and Australia had a much closer relationship historically than they do today. Many of the ships, including the First Fleet, travelling from Europe to Australia in the early days of colonisation put to port in Rio de Janiero. Today there are not even any direct flights between Australia and Brazil, yet the two cultures share much in common in their multicultural composition, their difficult relationships with their indigenous populations, and their complex association with the northern hemisphere.1

the cartographer's 'invention' of the world; the role of slavery in the process of colonisation; an anti-historical reconstruction of 'Brazil'

• 1. Rachel Kent from “Peter Callas: Initialising History, video works 1980-1999”