Ana Esteve Reig

The Never-ending Story is an audiovisual and artistic research project that seeks to elicit the experiences of eSports players and gamers, with the aim of questioning the importance and value of life in, in this case, a virtual environment such as that of video games. The research will conclude with the production of a video on the subject. One of the concepts she will explore is how playing a video game can be an act of catharsis in which you die and are brought back to life over and over again, always with the possibility of being revived and having another go. A virtual experience similar to that of reincarnation, a concept that exists in many Eastern religions. Ana Esteve’s intention is to show this as something positive, given that a virtual environment gives us the chance to try again and improve. Hence her active collaboration with high-performance eSports players and experts in reincarnation and spirituality.

Biography

Ana Esteve Reig (Agres, 1986) is a video artist, filmmaker and university associate professor. She has studied Fine Arts at the UCM and the Kunsthochschule Kassel, where she also completed a postgraduate degree.  In her video art productions, the artist explores issues such as the construction of social archetypes, the dichotomy between reality and fiction, and the social dynamics inherent in virtual reality. Her interest in fiction has led Esteve Reig to examine the role of the individual as a subject who belongs to a collective and complex reality through its cultural manifestations, rites and customs.

Her work has earned her the BBVA Multiverse Grant for Video Art Creation and production grants from the Community of Madrid and the Ministry of Culture and Sport. She has recently had a solo exhibition at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid and at DA2 Artium in Salamanca. Her work has also been shown in important institutions such as the Valencia Institute of Modern Art in Alcoy and the Castellon Contemporary Art Space (EACC), among others. Her agent is the Luis Adelantado Gallery in Valencia.

Ana Esteve Reig is a recipient of the 24-25 Medialab Matadero Madrid situated research residency  .