From the solo exhibition at M16 Artspace, Canberra, ACT. January 17 to February 3 2019...
Showing posts with label projection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label projection. Show all posts
Lobster Jack
Experiment on two fronts. 3 channel immersive environment mock-up and 3D virtual video room.
Projection experiment #3
Photos taken from a day of video projection experiments to show scale and resolution...
Old Bega Hospital
Old Bega Hospital is my favourite building in the local area. Sadly fire has left it in a state of disrepair. Recently funds were allocated to re-roof the building as a start towards restoration. It is obviously needed as an important part of the local heritage. However, I like it just the way it is, and although I recognise that it won't remain like this forever, I do think that it is in a perfect state for an intervention. Whether this be projection or performance or both I am open to suggestions. Of course, all highly illegal, but nothing ventured, nothing gained? Contact me if interested...
Shadow Chase
Sometime in the latter half of last year Ana Cordeiro Reis (Hyaena Fierling) had asked me if I was interested in providing her with a half-an-hour of video footage that she could then compose to with a view to it being used in a live performance in the UK. Naturally the chance to work with her was all the motivation needed, and so we began discussions on the what, the where and the how.
I had recently had my work projected publicly for the first time (as opposed to being shown on a flat-screen TV in a gallery setting) and was thinking about the need to tailor the work to the environment in which it was to be shown, so my first questions were about where Ana was planning to perform. Locations in Birmingham and possibly The Gregson Institute in Liverpool were mentioned and I spent some time researching the type of places these were and the type of performances held in them, as well as looking at Ana's other recorded live performances on YouTube and Vimeo.
The spaces were fairly small and intimate (as opposed to stadium type) and the projection would not be on a huge scale. I had to consider peripheral lighting, possible people movement and that Ana would be weaving her magic against a backdrop of my imagery. To produce a narrative or anything too subtle seemed pointless, so the challenge was to make something visually interesting in such a setting over the space of half-an-hour as well as maintaining some continuity and having some alignment, if not meaning, with Ana's aesthetic.
We discussed via Skype a theme. Dreams, journeys, imaginary landscapes, juxtapositions...
Ana sent some footage via WeTransfer of road movies she had taken in Portugal and also some still images from her vast collection. I had also been working on footage from unrelated sources, so it was a matter of trying to find a balance between her suggestions and what I needed to maintain my interest and enthusiasm.
I had never made a video of this length before (10 minutes being the previous max). I also was used to working to a soundtrack, not in silence. I was not comfortable with using still images (seemed like a slide show) so I began merging the road movies with dream like snippets. At this point the combined footage ran for less than 20 minutes. I thought that to have some footage of Ana herself might be a nice touch, so that the audience could see that the film was specifically about her as opposed to some random imagery.
Over a few months life and work get in the way of the best laid plans. Other little projects crop up, ideas get modified, directions change. I was doing long road trips from one end of the state to the other, Ana was in UK one day, Portugal the next. Occasionally snippets would arrive, we continued our Skype discussions and I continued to try to build the film without really knowing what the soundtrack would be. I must admit at this time I was really struggling to maintain continuity, so when some more footage arrived of Ana dancing it became the catalyst to start bringing it all together. I compiled the film out to around 28 minutes and sent a rough cut back. I had called it 'The Dreams of Ana'.
It was only a matter of a few days when a 10 minute soundscape came back with the title of 'shadow chase'. From here on it gave me the direction I needed to start pulling it all together, and so began the tightening up and working out the colour harmonies and 'flow'. Also Ana sent some more footage of her hands and shadows which helped me to resolve issues I was having with the start and end. I got to a point where I thought that this was about as good as it is going to get, so sent off the second draft. She continued with finishing the composition, and so Shadow Chase was born...
The soundtrack will be released as part of an EP, and we will let you know when the live performances are likely to take place.
You can download the film from the Internet Archive here...
Our other collaborations have been:
Why is this happening?
The Illusion of Freedom
I forget you
Ana's website is: akousmata
Hyaena Fierling: TIMELEAP live
Following on from the recent post 'The grass is always greener...' (see below) this video has just been released of Hyaena Fierling presenting her suite TIMELEAP as soundtrack for Artavad
Pelechian's Seasons of the Year. Performance at the Old Mo, Birmingham UK, Oct 2013. Enjoy...
Projection experiment #1
With the recent collaboration between Griet, Denitsa and myself and the new multidimensional art space in Bega fresh in my mind it has been timely to be able to experiment for a few hours with a borrowed data projector. The experiments revolved around departing from the static single projection on to a screen to exploring uneven surfaces, back projection and transparent 'curtains'. A long way to go yet, but it's a start...
Seeing how long one can hold one arm up before collapsing in pain!
Giving the neighbours a show. They all think we are strange anyway...
The star in these three pics is Pinot, the cat. Singularly unimpressed with the human's feeble attempt at creativity...
...and special thanks to Joy for helping out.
Across a troubled world
In February of this year I began a collaboration with Griet Menschaert and Denitsa Dicova. Griet is a Belgian born fine artist, linguist, writer and performer who resides in the Netherlands and Denitsa is a contemporary dancer and photographer from Bulgaria. The story begins back in 2012 when I first started blogging and looked around at other people who shared similar interests. I came across Griet's work, liked what she did, followed her progress and did the odd blog post promoting her efforts.
Late in 2013 we exchanged a few emails mentioning possible collaboration. It all got caught up in the end of year madness, and early in 2014 Griet wrote asking for a 'starting point'. I did not have a specific project in mind but wrote back with some general thoughts about the direction I was heading in. From there she mentioned that she had just embarked on a project with Denitsa and would I be interested in joining in on a possible video component.
The project was loosely defined around the words "A performance in which (mother) language, the body, manipulation, time, organic / rational, concentration, aesthetics, purity and exchange are central." The idea, or at least my part in it, was to incorporate some kind of video element into a future performance in their respective homelands. We decided fairly early on in the piece that three way communication across the continents could be difficult, and for this project to work I would take on the role of a 'silent' partner rather than an active participant.
Griet and Denitsa began by sending me some footage they had shot of themselves, a series of short clips with a strong, hands, feet and graphics theme. And so began a series of five video experiments. This was the first time I had worked with 'supplied' footage as opposed to stuff I have selected myself, and that in itself was quite a challenge in terms of process. There were also technical issues to resolve with file transfers and types as well as video resolution differences.
The first experiment was Kitimas Akys (named after the soundtrack) and was a merge of Griet drawing on a window with Denitsa's hands 'dancing' in the background. I used some short footage of my own of storm clouds at the beginning and end and a slightly ominous public domain soundscape by Jaras Ramunas which gives the clip quite a melancholy mood.
The second clip Broken was a bit of a throwaway experiment where I was trying some technical trickery using a grid of Denitsa's hand merged with footage of a woman 'riding' a man/woman? and having an orgasm. I was curious to see how my colleagues would react to an element of eroticism. The soundtrack was by VJ Memes and called 'I am Broken' and sourced from ccMixter.
In Cogitality I returned to a more 'pure' approach with merging the original footage on three levels, which gave the clip a more monotone look, with varying focal points occurring (I will admit somewhat randomly!). The soundtrack was my own mix of Brazilian jazz with spoken word from a Bulgarian National TV documentary.
In Across a troubled world I reverted to the original footage, edited into short snippets, giving each individual alternating clip (first Denitsa, then Griet and so on) a strong contrasting colour. I was thinking about projection in a performance sense and how this approach might complement theatrical lighting. The soundtrack was 'Juno' by Harold Budd from his Pavilion of Dreams album and sourced through UbuWeb.
In the fifth experiment I used a soundscape built around a recording that Griet had sent me of her making 'noises'. I played around with a few effects and duplicated the track, reversed it and mixed the two together. The video was another 'random' merge but has some nice passages in it that warrant further exploration.
Thoughts on the process: Collaboration implies a certain suppression of one's ego. It is not just about me, and while musicians, actors, dancers etc. are used to working together as a matter of course it is not so common among visual artists. I find that collaboration takes me places creatively that I would not have considered going (or perhaps been courageous enough!) to if I just stayed working alone in the ivory tower of my mind living here in one of the most isolated parts of the planet.
Embracing different cultures, disciplines, language, experiences, personalities has (and continues to be) a great learning experience. However life can get in the way of the best laid plans and I have found that to maintain enthusiasm, momentum, continuity let alone concentration over a long period of time challenging. Reaching agreement/approval on output is also an interesting point. We could NOT agree on (my) choice of music for the clips, and it was only in the fifth experiment with Griet's manipulated 'noise' that we found common ground.
This project has also taken place over a time in the world of great conflict. Griet has worked in the Ukraine and has friends and colleagues there. Bulgaria sits at the opposite side of the Black Sea. It has been impossible to divorce oneself from the politics of the situation and our underlying concerns for humanity...hence the title of this post. And I have made friends out of two artists that I have a great deal of respect for.
Where this project goes from here is unknown. Whether it reaches a final performance or continues as an experiment, or not at all, is not the point. What is relevant is that it becomes a point of departure for future activities, and one that stretches the boundaries of countries as well as the imagination...
Griet Menschaert can be found here...
Denitsa Dicova here...
Late in 2013 we exchanged a few emails mentioning possible collaboration. It all got caught up in the end of year madness, and early in 2014 Griet wrote asking for a 'starting point'. I did not have a specific project in mind but wrote back with some general thoughts about the direction I was heading in. From there she mentioned that she had just embarked on a project with Denitsa and would I be interested in joining in on a possible video component.
The project was loosely defined around the words "A performance in which (mother) language, the body, manipulation, time, organic / rational, concentration, aesthetics, purity and exchange are central." The idea, or at least my part in it, was to incorporate some kind of video element into a future performance in their respective homelands. We decided fairly early on in the piece that three way communication across the continents could be difficult, and for this project to work I would take on the role of a 'silent' partner rather than an active participant.
Griet and Denitsa began by sending me some footage they had shot of themselves, a series of short clips with a strong, hands, feet and graphics theme. And so began a series of five video experiments. This was the first time I had worked with 'supplied' footage as opposed to stuff I have selected myself, and that in itself was quite a challenge in terms of process. There were also technical issues to resolve with file transfers and types as well as video resolution differences.
Kitimas Akys, video still, 2014
The first experiment was Kitimas Akys (named after the soundtrack) and was a merge of Griet drawing on a window with Denitsa's hands 'dancing' in the background. I used some short footage of my own of storm clouds at the beginning and end and a slightly ominous public domain soundscape by Jaras Ramunas which gives the clip quite a melancholy mood.
Broken, video still, 2014
The second clip Broken was a bit of a throwaway experiment where I was trying some technical trickery using a grid of Denitsa's hand merged with footage of a woman 'riding' a man/woman? and having an orgasm. I was curious to see how my colleagues would react to an element of eroticism. The soundtrack was by VJ Memes and called 'I am Broken' and sourced from ccMixter.
Cogitality, video still, 2014
In Cogitality I returned to a more 'pure' approach with merging the original footage on three levels, which gave the clip a more monotone look, with varying focal points occurring (I will admit somewhat randomly!). The soundtrack was my own mix of Brazilian jazz with spoken word from a Bulgarian National TV documentary.
Across a troubled world, Griet's hands blue, video still, 2014
Across a troubled world, Denitsa's hands orange, video still, 2014
In Across a troubled world I reverted to the original footage, edited into short snippets, giving each individual alternating clip (first Denitsa, then Griet and so on) a strong contrasting colour. I was thinking about projection in a performance sense and how this approach might complement theatrical lighting. The soundtrack was 'Juno' by Harold Budd from his Pavilion of Dreams album and sourced through UbuWeb.
Hands, feet, breath, video still, 2014
In the fifth experiment I used a soundscape built around a recording that Griet had sent me of her making 'noises'. I played around with a few effects and duplicated the track, reversed it and mixed the two together. The video was another 'random' merge but has some nice passages in it that warrant further exploration.
Thoughts on the process: Collaboration implies a certain suppression of one's ego. It is not just about me, and while musicians, actors, dancers etc. are used to working together as a matter of course it is not so common among visual artists. I find that collaboration takes me places creatively that I would not have considered going (or perhaps been courageous enough!) to if I just stayed working alone in the ivory tower of my mind living here in one of the most isolated parts of the planet.
Embracing different cultures, disciplines, language, experiences, personalities has (and continues to be) a great learning experience. However life can get in the way of the best laid plans and I have found that to maintain enthusiasm, momentum, continuity let alone concentration over a long period of time challenging. Reaching agreement/approval on output is also an interesting point. We could NOT agree on (my) choice of music for the clips, and it was only in the fifth experiment with Griet's manipulated 'noise' that we found common ground.
This project has also taken place over a time in the world of great conflict. Griet has worked in the Ukraine and has friends and colleagues there. Bulgaria sits at the opposite side of the Black Sea. It has been impossible to divorce oneself from the politics of the situation and our underlying concerns for humanity...hence the title of this post. And I have made friends out of two artists that I have a great deal of respect for.
Where this project goes from here is unknown. Whether it reaches a final performance or continues as an experiment, or not at all, is not the point. What is relevant is that it becomes a point of departure for future activities, and one that stretches the boundaries of countries as well as the imagination...
Griet Menschaert can be found here...
Denitsa Dicova here...
ReArtVision
Well...it had to happen eventually. Bega catching up with the rest of the world that is. If not quite there yet with aesthetically pleasing architecture then at least the germ of a creative 'movement' that has been propelled by the current (and inaugural) Festival of the Face, an offshoot of the now national, and lucrative Shirley Hannan Portrait Award. And a major part of the transformation has been the 'occupation' of the old Retravision electrical retail store into a multidimensional art space.
Saturday night saw an 'event', hopefully among the first of many, where the pictures on walls concept was augmented by performance, films and music. And an opportunity for me to have some of my videos projected on the 'big' screen. Many thanks to Richard Maude and Tony Dean for making it all happen...
Saturday night saw an 'event', hopefully among the first of many, where the pictures on walls concept was augmented by performance, films and music. And an opportunity for me to have some of my videos projected on the 'big' screen. Many thanks to Richard Maude and Tony Dean for making it all happen...
The space transformed
Musician Dr Chris Korvin at the 'operating' table
Some of my photomontages
Still from 'Black Red White'
Still from 'Black Red White'
Still from 'Broken'
You can follow Festival of the Face on Facebook here...