In Spanish Tape, Hackenberg distills the essence of time and place, the poetics of the quotidian. She writes that "the video camera acts as a friendly witness to certain moments recorded within a four-week period in an area called Extremadura." Extremadura, in southwestern Spain, is an arid, harsh landscape, dominated by groves of olive trees. Juxtaposing two sets of images simultaneously on one screen, Hackenberg records moments of everyday life: leisure, work, a wedding celebration. Integral to this lyrical observation of time and place is the landscape of olive and palm trees, which represents to Hackenberg highly romantic and nostalgic metaphors for stability, freedom and mythic beauty. People, linked with the landscape, are seen in medium or close shots that affirm the intimacy of the subject matter. Heightening the sense of time through extended sequences, Hackenberg conveys what she terms "a conscious spirit within objects, landscape and nature."