Illuminated, evolving medium

Bring Your Own Beamer is a project launched by Berlin artist Rafaël Rozendaal in 2010 that gives an open-call to visual projection artists of every inclination.

In a DIY showcase of the developing frontier of projection, BYOB invited artists to bring their own equipment to a common location for one night. The event has since been held in over 100 cities worldwide.

Last month, Tijuana threw their first BYOB celebration at TJ in China, a project space on Revolución that shares a sister gallery in Beijing.

About 20 artists from Tijuana, Tecate, Spain, the US, and China brought expressions ranging from Carlos Buenrostro’s vintage slide projector powered by a strobing bicycle light to lysergic self-morphing CGI patterns to Julio M. Romero’s 16mm footage of what appeared to be a pagan ritual on the shores of Playas Tijuana.

The mood was one of a beatless rave – the sound itself an atonal hodgepodge of various installations, light from one projector or another disorienting the eyes no matter where one stood, and seemingly endless kegs of Mamut beer flowing in the back until the police got around to shutting things down just after midnight.

After the photons settled and the duct tape-mounted projectors were taken home, organizers Moisés Horta (Los Macuanos) and Simon Pecco reflected on the event.

Chad Deal: How did you become interested in BYOB?

Horta & Pecco: Through the internet, of course. We've been really interested in digital-art for quite some years, and within those long hours of surfing the net we came across Rafaël Rozendaal's net-art and the BYOB idea. The fact that it's an open source idea and easily reproducible anywhere in the world made sense to do one in our hometown. The awesome thing about the dynamic is that it takes on a local vibe wherever it's made.

CD: What were some of the proposed projects for Tijuana's BYOB in both visual and audio?

H&P: We received very interesting works both from local artists and international. They ranged from a more cinematographic perspective to experimental videos, A/V installations, video games, and more. I think the most interesting thing will be the juxtaposition of all of these themes and practices within the visual medium in one single space and how the audience reacts to these.

CD: Why is this event relevant or important to Tijuana specifically?

H&P: The fact that Tijuana is not new to these kinds of practices made sense to organize a BYOB event in the city; it just felt natural. I think it's relevant that the space it will be held in is TJ in China Project Space, since it's one of the few and up and coming spaces that are really open to these initiatives. Both Daniel Ruanova and Mely Barragan, the directors of this space, have been really supportive of us organizing the event there.