BUILDING -SCAPES
“Building -scapes” is an innovative performance-practice-as-research endeavour that delves into the interplay of somatic, sonic, and cyclical processes within a technologically mediated space. Through an immersive fusion of sound and movement, this project fosters encounters with others, facilitating intimate sharing and exploration of collaborative social-ecological systems. In our current socio-economic-political landscape, such practices are vital to creating fertile ground for meaningful connections and cooperation.
Creation: The Performance Experience
Conceived as a site-specific experience, “Building -scapes” involves performers engaging in real-time sound composition while interacting with the environment in the presence of the audience. This instantaneous “feedback-response” process reveals the delicate and intimate relationship between humans, their surroundings, and technology. To join the performance, the audience scans a QR code on their mobile devices to access an audio streaming event.
From the moment the audience steps into the performance space, they become integral to the unfolding narrative. Through movement and live sound composition, the performers present fragmented materials that leave space for individual associations and personal interpretations. Each member of the audience listens to the performance through headphones, while the architectural, sensorial, and kinaesthetic aspects of the space continuously evolve, deconstruct, and reassemble.
The performers explore a diverse range of motions and vocal sounds, playing with prosody and responding to the environment, the audience’s presence, and the current socio-political and environmental landscape. Their exploration encompasses micro and macro events, from bodily sensations to memories, and from environmental issues to political concerns. A writer observes and responds to the unfolding events by crafting storytelling projected within the space, allowing a flow of independent thoughts and associations.
Throughout the performance, the text, soundscape, and movement sometimes collide, creating intriguing contrasts, while at other times, they harmoniously complement each other. The audience receives the soundscape with a slight delay due to the nature of the audio live-stream event, further enhancing the dream-like and virtual qualities of the experience without relying on virtual equipment. This unique assemblage of structured and spontaneous “happenings,” experienced intimately through headphones, produces a subtle misalignment between sight and sound, expectation, and familiarity, generating a space for free associations. In this performance, the world becomes a playground and a mirror of our projections and expectations.
“Building -scapes” is a captivating performance-practice-as-research project that transcends conventional boundaries, inviting participants to explore the interwoven fabric of sound, movement, and human interaction in a dynamically shifting space of thought-provoking encounters.
