Entry #032
Object of meditation #003
FLOW OF GLITCHES
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This piece of work was created for an exhibition, which never happened as a consequence of the COVID lockdown.
Philosophically, my goal was to stimulate, challenge or alter people’s perceptions. Conceptually, my primary goal was to engage the viewer into observational mode preferably self-observation – and to specifically do so by breaking the dominance of how we are influenced through the visual intake and promoting the use of other senses too such as touch and sound. Technically, my goal was to experiment with how to connect different devices, frameworks, controllers and programs to work together as a whole system.
But the pandemic meant that I no longer had access or the ability to put this artwork in a public space and let people play with it. I could no longer work in the context I had intended. I was limited in two ways compared to my original goals: space and people. During my process of re-imagining what I could do, I remembered my inspirations during my research and critical studies. Within my artistic practice, I have specific curiosities and fears about performance.
The context for the artwork became my flat and within this, the bathroom. It was a challenging and weird choice but this was the best space for a reflective experience. The reality is that many people meditate, relax and contemplate in the bathroom. Since I was alone in my flat with my wife, she became my only audience and I was the sole artist. I decided to transform the work into a performance. Between the two of us, I was delivering the performance and she was experiencing the art, but also part of the performance. None of my goals changed only the form of execution.
I liked how this installation became an artless art, which acted as a vehicle and a space, rather than an object.
This audiovisual exploration in the form of an intimate live performance, helped me to gain insight into a various application of art that meets the space without overpowering or intruding.
The images above are screenshots from the code running.
Entry #031
THE FIRE
Hello world,
Here is my participation in Catford Trails – an art trail.
Many visitors, many stories around a fire. Fire as a facilitator, as a transmutation, as an energy, as the healer, as the vehicle, as an object of meditation, as a memory, as a place, as a passing on – and so on.
One story particularly stands out, as it made a lasting impression on me.
One lady came in and as with the rest of the visitors, I welcomed her and invited her to connect with the art on her own terms, before she got the chance to ask what it was.
I gave her time to explore before I provided her a few clues about the work and how she could connect to it with motion, as it has motion sensors connected to the sound and visuals.
She immediately started playing with the work and visibly enjoyed herself.
I said that this work represents a fire, a space where stories are shared, things can transmute or let go, and a place where our countless ancestry talked about their visions, hopes, dreams and fears.
She looked deeper into the work in contemplation and connected to the sound through her body movement. Then she closed her eyes and started moving about in a wave-like motion, embodying something she was feeling. She reminded me of an Indigenous, a wise tribal woman who tapped into her ‘inner’ world. She looked so raw, so natural, so connected.
I stayed silent observing her interaction with something so human and natural, through digital art in a machine.
Her flow went on for roughly 5 minutes before her tears started flowing down her cheeks with a peaceful smile on her face. Her movement slowed down and she stopped.
I was speechless as much as curious about what just happened.
She turned to me shortly telling me with a calm serene voice, that her mother just died recently, and she was grieving, but she didn’t know how to process it or connect to that feeling; what to expect of it or how to express it.
She said when she connected to the sound with her motion and when felt the feedback responding to her, she could attach that sound to her feelings and move it, shape it, feel it and let it out of her body. Let it go.
Needless to say, I felt so much compassion for her and was honoured by the opportunity to witness such an intimate moment.
This encounter changed how I perceived my art practice in a matter of moments. Nothing could prepare me for this experience.
Was humbled by how a person could open up to the art with such honesty.
Around the fire
Entry #030
TRANSMUTATION>
Transmutation -a flow of cycles
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Flow
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Text, no text yet!
Entry#022
FINAL RELEASE
Hello world,
the video below is the final piece for this project. I will share my experience and additional technical details along with documentation in the following post.
Here I’m sharing the artist statement and the video itself. I hope you will enjoy it.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
This artwork is an exploration of the machine and human interaction, and the properties of the space that, this kind of relationship creates. It examines aspects of this connection, what can be conveyed through art, what is lost through this, and what is unique to this collaboration. This multimedia performance is the result of the continual synthesis between artist, machine and dancer. The result can be understood as co-creation between human and machine – an inimitable, distinctive artwork which is the consequence of mingling of human expression and machine programming, complete with glitches. This investigation through mimetic process invites questions such as whether the machine is a separate entity, or an extension of our humanity; and how what is gathered and formed through the creative process of re-encoding ambiguity and authenticity becomes real, beyond physicality.
Notes:
The work is displayed on the website, dedicated to host the final project along with students from year 1 to 3 from the Digital Arts and Computing module at Goldsmiths University.
The direct link to this work is here.
FLOW OF GLITCHES
For the best experience, please use headphones!
Entry #020
FINAL RELEASE
Hello world,
the video below is the final piece for this project. I will share my experience and additional technical details along with documentation in the following post.
Here I’m sharing the artist statement and the video itself. I hope you will enjoy it.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
This artwork is an exploration of the machine and human interaction, and the properties of the space that, this kind of relationship creates. It examines aspects of this connection, what can be conveyed through art, what is lost through this, and what is unique to this collaboration. This multimedia performance is the result of the continual synthesis between artist, machine and dancer. The result can be understood as co-creation between human and machine – an inimitable, distinctive artwork which is the consequence of mingling of human expression and machine programming, complete with glitches. This investigation through mimetic process invites questions such as whether the machine is a separate entity, or an extension of our humanity; and how what is gathered and formed through the creative process of re-encoding ambiguity and authenticity becomes real, beyond physicality.
Notes:
The work is displayed on the website, dedicated to host the final project along with students from year 1 to 3 from the Digital Arts and Computing module at Goldsmiths University.
The direct link to this work is here.
FLOW OF GLITCHES
For the best experience, please use headphones!
Entry #019
Visual alternatives
Hello world,
As I promised in a previous post, I’m showing you experimentation with the aesthetic at the finishing phase of the project.
This styling will most probably not make it to the finals, so for that reason, I’m sharing it here and now.
I love the idea of these forms and colours and will likely explore this direction further for another project.
This effect is achieved in MAX MSP through playing with the blending mode during merging two media.
Entry #018
ACT #3 Sneek peak.
Hello world,
the video below is the 3rd and the last in this series. The video is edited by now, and with that, I can now proceed to finish the last layers of the artwork.
This part of the performance is about self-realisation, self-expression and phasing out into a decay. The final pose of the dancer(the starting position in Act#1 – child-pose) suggests, that another cycle is on its way, but in a different form.
The next stage in the process is finishing the artwork by feeding it through my p5.js sketch, before the final post-processing can take place.
ACT #3 sneak peek.
Entry #017
ACT #2 Sneek peak.
Hello world,
the video below is the second in the series of three. The footage is still a bit raw, and no effect applied, but this is where it is going. I tried some colour accents(which I will post you to see in the next post), however, I’m still in favour of the black and white styling.
This part of the performance is about self-inquiry, self-exploration and reaching some threshold after the awakening from one state to another.
The following ACT(Act3) will narrate the cycle of self-realisation and self-expression.
ACT #2 sneak peek.
Entry #016
ACT #1 Sneek peak.
Hello world,
the video below is the first in the series of three. The footage is still a bit raw, and the effect is not the final one, however, the direction of the style is set for this ACT(the division of the parts of the performance borrowed from the theatre).
This part of the performance is about awakening from one state to another -the coming from the deep within.
The following ACT will look a bit different in comparison to the last one, as it is meant to narrate the next cycle in the process of transformation.
ACT #1 sneak peek.
Entry #015
SOUND AND VISUAL DESIGN
Hello world,
at this point in the process, Im experimenting with the sound and visuals jointly, as it is time to slowly bring every thread together.
Elettra (the dancer) was so kind as to sketch out some moves based on the previous sound snippets I created.
Im very happy with the movements, visuals and sound. This is not the final of course, however a good direction.
This new sound snippet is created as a creative response to her dance movements. The next step is to do the sound and the movements in real-time with OSC connecting the dancer’s keypoints to some of the sound variables.
Im undecided between black and white feel or on the other hand, I could add some colours to it – maybe both.
SOUND AND VISUAL SNIPPET