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in the loop – nov 22

realtime’s advance word


portrait Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, photo Ana Cristina Enrique; installation shot People on People, Rafael Lozano Hemmer 2010, Recorders Manchester Galllery UK, photo Peter Mallet portrait Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, photo Ana Cristina Enrique; installation shot People on People, Rafael Lozano Hemmer 2010, Recorders Manchester Galllery UK, photo Peter Mallet
“antimonuments for alien agency”

This is what Mexican-born, Canadian-based artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer calls his interactive installations. Hemmer has visited Australia several times over the last few years, appearing at the 2009 Adelaide Film Festival as keynote speaker (see RT89) and also as the guest artist of Federation Square’s 2010 Light in Winter Festival presenting his major work Solar Equation (see the interview in RT97 and review of the work in RT99). He returns to Australia in December to present the MCA’s Lloyd Rees Memorial lecture: Antimonuments and Subsculptures, just prior to the opening of his major exhibition, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Recorders, in one of the new galleries of the MCA. In this lecture he will discuss some of his more recent projects: Voz Alta, a memorial for the Tlatelolco student Massacre in Mexico City in 1968; Levels of Nothingness, a performance for the Guggenheim Museum NYC; and Vectorial Elevation, for Vancouver Winter Olympics. “Inspired by phantasmagoria, carnival and animatronics” (press release), the exhibition will feature 12 works including two made especially for Sydney, all of which encourage high levels of audience interaction to create their magic. 2011 Lloyd Rees Memorial lecture: Antimonuments and Subsculptures, Dec 5, 6.30-8pm, The Studio, Sydney Opera House, bookings www.sydneyoperahouse.com; Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Recorders, Dec 16-Feb 12, Museum of Contemporary Art; http://www.mca.com.au/

up close and personal

In a celebration of the confessional comes The Horse's Mouth, a festival of autobiographical performance. Over three programs, some of Sydney’s more intriguing performance and theatre makers will be baring their souls and sharing their sordid histories. Program A: Bolted, features Zoe Coombs Marr sharing stories of a failed road trip (see reviews of Coombs Marr’s recent solo And That Was The Summer That Changed My Life; POST’s Who’s the Best and Everything I Know About the Global Financial Crisis in One Hour); Tim Spencer in conversation with a male sex worker; and Phil Spencer (director of the event) exploring his relationship with his Nana, rock ‘n’ roll wrestling and cake. Program B: In Hell for Leather Jono Burns explores a sense of home through his escapades in New York, while Zoe Norton Lodge reveals the idiosyncrasies of her family through a study of household neglect and a love of possums. The final program, One Trick Pony is an evening of short works by Nick Coyle, Scarlet McGlynn, Betty Grumble and Alex Vaughan. And on Sunday’s there’s also a Story Club where perhaps everyone can share! Bambina Borracha Productions in association with Tamarama Rock Surfers Theatre Company: The Horse's Mouth, artistic director Phil Spencer? producer Vanessa Hughes, Nov 24-Dec 17, Tues-Sun 8pm, The Old Fitzroy Theatre, www.horsething.com

collectors items

DELUXE dLux Edition#1 DELUXE dLux Edition#1
dLux media arts has just launched DELUXE: dLux Edition #1 designed as an introduction to video art for collectors and featuring works by Dani Marti, Daniel Mudie Cuningham, Angelica Mesiti, John A Douglas, SODA_JERK, Kate Murphy, Elvis Richardson, John Tonkin, Denis Beaubois, Hayden Fowler, Sue Healey and Julie Rrap. There will only be 100 produced, each "in a funky aluminium travel case," and it’s priced at $295 with the proceeds going to make up the funding short-fall that dLux has just suffered. Undeterred, dLux is also currently presenting The Garden of Forking Paths, an exhibition of game art curated by Neil Jenkins at the Tin Sheds Gallery. Featuring games designed by artists spanning 30 years such as Puppet Motel by Laurie Anderson (USA) with Hsin-Chien Huang (Taiwan) 1995; Frame Game by Michael Nyman (UK) 2003 and CuteXDoomII by Anita Fontaine (Aus) & Mike Pelletier (Canada) 2008, visitors can actually play the games, some of which need almost ancient seeming technology to run. The exhibition was first presented during the 2009 Electrofringe in Newcastle (reviewed here) and has already toured to Burnie and Port Macquarie, and will be presented at Bathurst Regional Gallery in 2012. DELUXE: dLux Editions #1, $295; The Garden of Forking Paths, curator Neil Jenkins, The Tin Sheds Gallery, Nov 4-26 ; http://www.dlux.org.au/

A new DVD publication, Short Play, is inaugurated with Volume 00:01 Play. Curated by Rachel Feery it features short works that explore the idea of play in film, performance, installation, new media and animation with works by Brown Council, Hit&Miss, Rachel Feery + Lisa Stewart, Timothy P Kerr, Jane Korman, Alanna Lorenzon, Riki-Metisse Marlow, Ms&Mr, Hannah Raisin, Safari Team, Sam Smith, Lachlan Tetlow-Stuart, Michael Vale and Jemima Wyman. The video works are also contextualised by six essays. With 500 produced the DVD costs $20 plus postage and can be bought online or found in a range of galleries. Short Play Publications, Volume 00:01 Play; http://shortplaypublications.com.au/

ears around melbourne

Giant Theremin, Robin Fox Giant Theremin, Robin Fox
photo courtesy the artsist
The Theremin has a kind of cult status in the electronic music world not just because of its otherworldly sci-fi sounds—it is perhaps the earliest manifestation of an interactive installation. Russian scientist Leon Theremin created an instrument that can be played by anyone simply by gesture— waving hands gracefully through air. Even today, amidst all our contemporary interactive devices it still seems a little bit magical. So imagine the potential of an upscaled Theremin, designed as a public artwork. The City of Melbourne has approached Robin Fox to create this wonder and it has just been unveiled in Signal Forecourt, Northbank. (Fox is perhaps best known for his astounding interactive audio visuals created with Frieder Weiss for Chunky Move’s Mortal Engine, see reviews in RT88 and Dance Massive 2009 coverage.) Standing seven metres tall, the instrument responds to the movements of people around it, and is able to produce not only original Theremin sounds but also to manipulate sound files and trigger midi-instruments. Fox says “it is designed to make people move and to make people listen, not only to their own sound but to the sound of others engaging with the instrument” (artist's statement). The Giant Theremin will be integrated into a range activities over summer, including performances by music producer Dexter and a dance work by Stephanie Lake on Nov 26, and will be available for play until February. City of Melbourne, Robin Fox’s Giant Theremin; http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au

Cara-Ann Simpson, Geo Sound Helmets, 2011 Cara-Ann Simpson, Geo Sound Helmets, 2011
photo Emily Hlavac-Green
Over at Kings ARI, Cara Anne Simpson will bring the world to you with her Geo Sound Helmets. Using field recordings sourced from Melbourne, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Toronto, Istanbul, Dunedin and her family farm in south-east Queensland, Simpson has created sound environments which play through head-encasing helmets and are controlled by the wearer’s breathing. The delicate sensors systems and headwear have been created in collaboration with James Laird (biomedical engineer and hacker), Ben Landau (industrial designer) and Eva Cheng (electrical and computer research engineer) and allow the listener a highly personalized journey through new aural geographies. (See Studio for Simpson’s previous work Noise Cancellation). Geo Sound Helmets Cara Anne Simpson , Kings ARI, Nov 25-Dec 17; http://www.kingsartistrun.com.au/kingsartistrun/upcoming/

The Out Hear Festival will also offer immersive sound experiences, but of a more acoustic nature. Dale Gorfinkel (see recent coverage in RT104, and earbash) has been artist in residence at the Footscray Art Centre and has also curated a weekend of deep listening events including installations, kinetic sound sculptures and instruments, performances and sound walks. Joining him will be guest artists Joyce Hinterding , Ernie Althoff, Rikki-Metisse Marlow, Ross Manning, Matt Chaumont and Anthony Magen. Out Hear Festival, curator Dale Gorfinkel, performance evening Nov 25, 8pm; Big West Festival weekend installations Nov 26 & Nov 27 11am-4pm; Footscray Arts Centre; http://outhear.com/; http://footscrayarts.com/

beijing bound

Shen Shaomin, I sleep on top of myself, detail of production image and installation shots, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art Shen Shaomin, I sleep on top of myself, detail of production image and installation shots, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
courtesy of the artist
Shen Shaomin, the artist who brought us Bonsai, the eerily life-like silica replicas of communist leaders in the 2010 Sydney Biennale, has returned to Australia to present his first solo exhibition in 10 years, The Day After Tomorrow at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. The exhibition will feature his most recent work which presents disturbingly hairless animal replicas in mounds of salt “dramatising the impact of human evolution and culture, and the damage inflicted upon the natural world and amongst its own species, in the pursuit of human freedom and progress” (website). As well as the gallery’s recent success in securing multi-year funding status as a Key Organisation, 4a has also announced a new opportunity for 2012 in which an Australian artist will be in residence at Shaomin’s studio complex in Beijing. Director Aaron Seeto states, “Shen Shaomin has been thinking very deeply about the type and quality of support that can be offered to Australian artists, and he has very generously offered his own studio as this cultural bridge” (press release). Shen Shaomin, The Day After Tomorrow, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Nov 15-Dec 10. Application details for the 2012 Beijing residency will be announced in December; http://www.4a.com.au/coming-soon-shen-shaomin-the-day-after-tomorrow/

future food

Given the current obsession with curious cuisine, it’s no surprise that some artists are incorporating the culinary into their practice. Australian-born US based Natalie Jeremijenko is a leading artist working with science and environmental issues and over the next two weeks she will be combining ecological thinking with haut-cuisine as she presents her Cross(x)Species Adventure Club in Sydney, Melbourne and Avoca (regional Victoria). Jeremijenko and chef Mihir Desai have been presenting the “eco-inspired ‘supper club’” around galleries in New York, creating dining experiences that illustrate “how choices in how and what we consume can have direct effects on ecological systems and the species that exist within them” (press release), with the proceeds helping support her Environmental Health Clinic (xClinic) at New York University. Cross(x)Species Adventure Club will be presented for one night only, Dec 1, at the Melbourne Museum, where guests will experience “edible cocktails that each stylishly and humorously explore our gastronomic, economic and material interdependency on other creatures” (press release). There will also be an exclusive Cross(x)Species degustation dinner at ArcOne Gallery on Nov 30. Prior to the Melbourne leg of the tour Jeremijenko has also appeared in Sydney for the National Institute of Experimental Art’s Curating Cities: Sydney-Copenhagen conference at Customs House. Aspects of her Farmacy project, with suggestions as to how to become an urban farmer or uFarmer, will be on display as part of the accompanying exhibition. Carbon Arts presents Natalie Jeremijenko’s Cross(x)Species Adventure Club; see website for full program details; http://www.carbonarts.org/events; NIEA’s Curating Cities: Sydney-Copenhagen, Nov 17- Dec 18, Customs House, Circular Quay; http://curatingcities.org/exhibitions/curating-cities-sydney-copenhagen/

fotofreo fringe proposals

Western Australia’s biannual photographic festival is coming up in March-April 2012 and planning is well underway. As well as major commissions by Martin Parr exploring Broome, Port Hedland, Fremantle and Albany and Bo Wong capturing the essence of Fremantle Market, there will also be a focus on photography from India and a group exhibition from New Zealand. The fringe festival is currently calling for submissions with a deadline of Nov 30. http://www.fotofreo.com/programme/fringe-exhibitions

RealTime issue #105 Oct-Nov 2011 pg. web

© RealTime ; for permission to reproduce apply to [email protected]

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