Indeterminacy and Interface - curated by Daniel Agnihotri-Clark

Indeterminacy and Interface presents work from a cross-disciplinary selection of local and international artists, in a not-to-be-missed performance event. The event provides an opportunity for reflection on the rich theoretical scope of the intersection between indeterminate modes of art production and the human interface with technology.

Free event: Sun 2nd October at Massey University's Wellington campus

Image: Globally dispersed performance troupe Avatar Body Collision who explore the internet as a venue for performanceIndeterminacy and Interface - curated by Daniel Agnihotri-Clark

Indeterminacy and Interface presents work from a cross-disciplinary selection of local and international artists, in a not-to-be-missed performance event. The event provides an opportunity for reflection on the rich theoretical scope of the intersection between indeterminate modes of art production and the human interface with technology.

Free event: Sun 2nd October at Massey University's Wellington campus

Image: Globally dispersed performance troupe Avatar Body Collision who explore the internet as a venue for performanceBerlin based sound artist Kate Donovan will present excerpts from her Air Vent project, Emil McAvoy (video) and Damian Stewart (audio) present a collaborative live audio/video performance, Rebecca Pilcher will perform a piece based on previous video work, Dirac will do a sound performance engaging with audience interactivity, and globally dispersed cyberformance troupe Avatar Body Collision (Wellington, London, Helsinki) present excerpts from documentary footage of their live performances (never publicly screened before).

The event is free of charge, and commences 7.30 pm, Sun 2 Oct, at a theatrette (10A02) in the old museum building on Massey University's Wellington Campus. This event has been generously sponsored by Heineken, Amstore, and the Massey University printery.

Dirac (David Borrie) is an emerging Wellington sound artist who will perform an interactive piece which he has developed for this event. Dirac's compositional process idiosyncratically employs decontextualised audio signals as triggers or control parameters that affect other audio signals. In his performance for this event, a small television set will screen whichever channel is selected by viewers, as a remote control for the television set is passed around the audience. Dirac will take the audio signal from the television and use it as a real-time source from which to derive a multi-layered sound performance. Dirac has an upcoming appearance at the Wellington City Art Galery ('The Late Night Sessions', 13 Oct 2005), he has recently performed at Piece Gallery (Aug 2005), in mobile video/audio project 'Van TV' in the Wellington Fringe Festival (New Zealand Film Archive Mediaplex and Civic Square, Mar 2005), Enjoy Public Art Gallery (Sep 2004), and he has worked on sound design for a number of short films.

Avatar Body Collision is a globally dispersed (New Zealand, London, Helsinki) cyberformance troupe who explore the use of the internet as a venue for performance, specifically in bringing remote performers together in live theatrical events. They devise and rehearse online using chat software that is cross-platform and free to download, and they delight in low-tech wizardry. Some of the members of the troupe have never met each other in person, but their work has been seen at festivals and events around the globe. Their primary software applications are the Palace (a 2D graphic-sonic chat application), iVisit (web cam conferencing application), and UpStage (open source web-based venue for cyberformance). Collider Helen Varley Jamieson (NZ) was originally scheduled to perform live, but due to a hip operation she will now be unable to perform at the event. Instead, excerpts of documentary footage from Avatar Body Collision's live performances will be screened. Helen Varley Jamieson has a background in theatre as a writer, director and producer, and has worked in digital media and the internet since 1996. Although she encountered chat rooms and MOOs early on, it wasn't until she met up with Desktop Theater in 2000 that she became excited by the potential of the internet as a venue for performance. She coined the term "cyberformance" to describe live performance using internet technologies such as chat applications. In 2001, her cyberformance presentation at the Odin Teatret, Denmark, caused such a commotion that she was inspired to embark on a hunt for the body and emotion in cyberformance. This search began with a research project, 'the[abc]experiment', and continues in her work with Avatar Body Collision. She remains optimistic, saying that she has always been able to smell her goal and every performance takes her closer. Karla Ptacek (MA, London) worked for two decades in New York City as performer, writer and director in multimedia ensembles. She has a practice as research MPhil in Distributed Performance Practices, supported by a scholarship from the Arts & Humanities Research Board, UK. Leena Saarinen (Helsinki) is a new media arts and information technology graduate, and is embarking on her DA dissertation in computer mediated communication. She is currently working on an interactive series for Finnish TV called 'Accidental Lovers'. Vicki Smith (NZ) is a visual artist who has been producing commissioned work and exhibitions for over a decade. She works in a design capacity for both print and web, and has taught second chance education in IT and the web. As well as producing graphics and avatars, Smith has contributed to developing characters and devising story. She is presently involved in an ICT professional development project for schools in Tai Poutini, and also has an installation project 'Trip the Light Fantastic' in the pipeline.

Rebecca Pilcher is a noted Wellington painter/video artist. Pilcher's work explores elements of the human condition, particularly the nature of power dynamics on the individual, mixing the mundane and the macabre, often to a humorous sinister effect. She will present an electro-gothic live performance based on previous imagery from her video work. Audience members will directly control the artist and companion through electro-muscle stimulation technology. Rebecca Pilcher (MFA) has recently had a solo painting show at Idiom Gallery (Aug 2005), exhibited her video work in mobile video/audio project 'Van TV' in the Wellington Fringe Festival (Mar 2005), participated in a collaborative installation at Show Gallery (June 2005), and her work has featured in a number of group shows at the Sargeant Gallery.

Damian Stewart (a.k.a. Frey) and Emil McAvoy collaborate to present an improvised audiovisual performance alternating between the live manipulation of samples and software/hardware feedback. Stewart writes music using loops of found sound and other squelchy noises and noise-concepts. He likes to hear sounds repeated, until the meaning of each sound collapses into its constitutient sonic parts: the experience becomes a pure sensation of noise. In live performance Stewart predominantly uses digital feedback, insisting on improvisation, and refusing to use any pre-prepared session files. McAvoy is an interdisciplinary artist working predominantly in live video, experimental film and photography. In live performance he uses software and hardware for real-time sequencing, editing and manipulation of video signals. Damian Stewart was a founding member of the While You Were Sleeping collective (who have organised a number of live ambient sound events), alongside his own explorations into the hypnotic stillness of repeated snapshots of sound. He has composed and self-released an e.p. ('Secret Knowledge which I Lack', 2003) and a double album ('Loud' and 'Quiet', 2004). Stewart has had numerous live appearances in Wellington, solo, and also with The Frey Band, The Ascension Band, and The Laptop Rhythm Pioneers. Notably, he performed alongside Biosphere at The Catchpool Found Sound Project (Mar, 2005), and The Ascension Band were awarded best music in the Wellington Fringe Festival 2005 (Happy, Mar 2005). Emil McAvoy (BVA) has recently exhibited at Show Gallery (Dec 2004/Jan 2005), and Enjoy Public Art Gallery (Apr 2004). His live video performances include "Outer Nebular Drifter", a collaborative performance as part of the VJ Rex exhibition (Prospect 2004: New Art New Zealand, New Zealand Film Archive Mediaplex, May/Jun 2004), and accompanying Signer at the Ghost in the Machine: Australasian Computer Music Association conference, with The Hollywood Alpha Male, (Victoria University, Wellington, Jul 2004). His VJ sets have accompanied international acts Amon Tobin, Digital, DJ Vadim, and The Herbaliser; as well as numerous local artists, including Misled Convoy (Michael Hodgson, Pitch Black), Module, Trinity Roots, and Fat Freddys Drop.

Kate Donovan is a Berlin-based sound artist who will present excerpts from her 'Air Vent' project. 'Air Vent' is a project that takes natural sounds out of their specific location and relocates these sounds into new contexts. In this project, calls were made to mobile telephones around the world, and recipients were asked to leave their phone to simply record the background sound of their immediate environment, to convey their specific time, place and environment through sound. These sounds were broadcast live via radio and the internet to other environments. The work stems from the relationship between the sound and the sound source, natural rhythms and patterns in everyday sound, and the fine line (and often friction) between natural and synthetic sound in connection to space. Kate Donovan (BFA) especially likes to work with radio, but she also plays live sound (often in collaboration with others), DJs, and works with sound installation, film and photography. The 'Air Vent' project was first realised with Juni Radio in Berlin (www.juniradio.net), and progressed through a residency with 'The Fear' at Hull Time Based Arts (www.timebase.org). Limited edition mini-CDs of 'Air Vent' have been released through Apostrov recordings (www.apostrov.net).