VR Exhibition
MUTEK.JP will be hosting a two-day exhibition of five works that utilize Extended Reality (XR) technology on December 8-9th on the Fourth Floor of Shibuya Stream Hall. The exhibition features three works from the Immersive Collection, a project launched by MUTEK Montréal this year to produce XR works: "Entanglement - France Jobin & Markus Heckmann," "House of Moiré - Chloe Alexandra Thompson & Matthew Edwards," and "Immortelle - Line Katcho." Choreographer, dancer, and visual artist Hiroaki Umeda presents "indivisible substance VR," a VR version of a work to be performed at Yokohama Dance Collection 2022 in December, while French producer Molécule showcases "-22.7°C," a work inspired by his adventure to the North Pole and Greenland to record sound. Dive into an immersive experience with a VR headset.
VR Exhibition
Date: December 8-9
TIme: 18:00−22:00
Venue: Shibuya Stream Hall 4F
* Passport or 12/8 Play 1 and 12/9 Play 2 ticket required for entry.
[Immersive Collection]
As a festival presenting cutting-edge audiovisual performances — works that innovate to create a new language of sound and images — we have always strived to accompany artists across new boundaries of technology. 2022 opens up a new chapter for MUTEK in Montreal, marking our first steps as an Extended Reality (XR) content producer, and five artists have stepped up to the challenge of reinventing a past festival performance into an XR artwork. The result is an eclectic yet coherent set of three different XR projects ranging from contemplative to surreal to dynamic.
Part of an emerging independent XR movement, these works defy traditional genres as they are not documentary nor classic fiction, not concert nor game. They belong to a new category of audiovisual VR experiences that are deployed from original concepts, non-traditional narratives and advanced digital creation tools.
Entanglement - France Jobin & Markus Heckmann
Entanglement is a dazzling work that distills quantum physics theories into a swooping sensorial experience. It interprets the concept of entanglement: when two or more particles link up, and no matter how far apart they are in space, their states remain linked. It is an uncanny phenomenon in quantum physics, one that defies explanations.
The piece oscillates between four theories: the fluidity of time, the multiverse, the Copenhagen interpretation and decoherence. These complex notions are translated into a visually and sonically stunning experience guided by science, technology, and the sensitivity needed to illustrate what cannot be visualized. The viewer contemplates these revolving realms, composed of intricate graphics and audio.
France Jobin is an audio and installation artist, as well as composer and curator. Markus Heckmann is a visual artist and Technical Director at Derivative, the maker of TouchDesigner
House of Moiré - Chloe Alexandra Thompson & Matthew Edwards
House of Moiré invites users into a void-like realm, where one’s experience is defined by the curiosity of their eyes and ears. In self-directed exploration, the viewer advances through a succession of rooms dressed in optical patterns, audio-visual programming, and minimalist spatial design. The result is an odd and inquisitive trip through transforming sonic and visual architecture. House of Moiré is the culmination of various iterations of Moiré, a series of A/V works which employ custom audio software, depth cameras, motion capture, and interactive design principles to investigate psycho-acoustics and sensory illusion.
Chloe Alexandra Thompson and Matthew Edwards (aka aesthetic.stalemate) are interdisciplinary artists and collaborators. Chloe is a composer and sound designer interested in the physicality of sound and mediation of technology in installation and performance, and Matthew blends installation art, performance and virtual reality.
Immortelle - Line Katcho
Immortelle is an atmospheric and figurative work illustrating the flights and falls of psychological endurance. Featuring a cathartic flux of sonic and visual fragments, this unpredictable piece opens a door onto how a mind in internal turmoil redefines the outside world. The viewer travels through different scenes and seasons, paves through evocative empty structures, wades through waves and mountain peaks, encounters a presence in a vacuum. Immortelle evokes how visceral perceptions of our environment mirror our own transformations, showing both the softer and fiery sides of a fighter spirit.
Line Katcho is a composer and audiovisual artist primarily interested in sound and image as demonstrations of kinetic matter. Through motion and gestures, she aims at creating a provocative sensory experience, leaving the viewer charged yet liberated.
indivisible substance VR - Hiroaki Umeda
"indivisible substance VR" is a VR version of a work that has been produced since 2021 as a live-streaming version, a theatrical version, and a dance work that transcends formats. Music was composed by AOKI takamasa and visuals were created by THINK AND SENSE led by Shuhei Matsuyama. In a space where the micro and macro worlds expressed by point cloud data intermingle, a person, now digital data, moves dynamically. Body data together with point cloud data brings the space to life, with the space itself becoming a dance. In this VR version, the dancer's body is more spatial.
Hiroaki Umeda is a choreographer, dancer, and visual artist. His works have been performed not only in the field of dance, but also in the fields of technology art and music. Since 2010, he has also produced installation works focusing on optical illusions and physically immersive experiences.
This work was realized in partnership with the contemporary dance festival Yokohama Dance Collection 2022. Hiroaki Umeda's new work "indivisible substance" will be performed online and on stage on December 7th and 8th at the Yokohama Dance Collection, while MUTEK.JP will show a VR version of the same work.
-22,7C - Jan Kounen, Molécule, Amaury La Burthe
-22.7°C is a VR experience inspired by the adventure of electronic music producer Molécule who went to Greenland to capture the sounds of the Arctic to compose. The experience takes you on an initiatory journey in the Far North. Listening to the sounds of the magnetic polar nature, you’ll explore your inner world, until reaching a state of harmony.
Credit:
Romain de La Haye-Sérafini (Molécule),
Author Jan Kounen - Co-author and Director,
Amaury La Burthe - Co-author and Sound Designer,
Presented with Beyond the Frame Festival
Supported by:
