Atmospherics

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The invisible atmosphere was thus the assumed intermediary in all communication, a zone of subtle influences crossing, mingling, and metamorphosing. The progressive forgetting of the air— the loss of the invisible richness of the present—has been accompanied by a concomitant internalisation of human awareness.

CULTURAL ECOLOGIST DAVID ABRAM, THE SPELL OF THE SENSUOUS

Atmospherics is a synesthetic performance, immersive audio experience, and educational tour featuring three musicians, spoken word narrative, dynamic visuals, architectonic transitions, and interactive elements for the audience. Lasting 45 minutes, the piece can be performed both in large concert halls and in more intimate or unconventional venues as a traveling performance. The experience was collaboratively developed by Elias Faingersh, Jenny Filipetti, Sofia William Åsenlöf, and Imre Zsibrik. Visuals relate to notions of time, sound, memory, creation, and decay, and participants become part of the music throughout the experience: invoking thunderstorms, recording their own voices and sound effects, and moving around the environment.

12 Months, Moons, and Sons

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This collaborative synesthetic piece experienced its world debut at the Kav Kaz Festival in Derbent, Russia, in October 2021, under the curation of Masha Kroupnik. This work sought to bring alive the Biblical story of the 12 Sons of Israel, creating a multisensory symphony of sound, light, and colour for each brother/tribe. Visual pieces incorporate the colours, symbols, and imagery  relating to the life or tribal role of each son, each element created as visual embodiment of the experience listening to that piece. The videos were then compiled and performed live during the festival.

I created and performed the live video projections. Music was composed by Uri Brener and conducted by Zarifa Abdulaeva. Featuring Sergei Nakaryakov (France) on the trumpet and cornet, Elias Faingersh (Sweden) on the trombone, live electronics, shofar, and the Makhachkala Philharmonic Orchestra. Narrative elements were composed by Elias Faingersh and Keren Klimovsky (Israel/Sweden). Additional lighting design by Imre Zsibrik (Sweden). View video footage from the Tribe of Levy, the Tribe of Issacher, and the 12 Tribes of Israel.

Il Circo delle Lumache (Snail Circus)

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Produced in spring 2022, il Circo delle Lumache (Snail Circus) is a whimsical celebration of gastropods and their amazing abilities. A miniature circus installation doubles as a multisensory micro-museum to watch and learn about snails.

The experience is a provocation for us to slow down and enter into the very different sensory space of snail time. Culturally, snails are often viewed through the lens of utility as everything from a garden nuisance to a culinary delicacy. But they are also living beings, indigenous to lands throughout present-day Italy, with whom we have co-existed for centuries. By repositioning them as the protagonists of an extravagant miniature world, the Snail Circus invites us to convene with these creatures for a few moments, simply as fellow inhabitants on this earth.

The Snail Circus is also the only current physical post office for Snail Mail. Write to the snail protagonists from anywhere in the world and we’ll read your letter to them! You can write to an individual snail or the whole troupe. Stop by the in-person Snail Mail post office if you’d like to pick up a snail-sized envelope and paper. Send your Snail Mail to:

ChromaKairos Snail Mail
Via Roberto Bellarmino, 13
20141 Milano, MI
Italy

Read more on the ChromaKairos project webpage (in Englishin italiano). You can also see more videos of the snails on the ChromaKairos Instagram.

Mission to Nocterra

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In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager space probe into the galaxy.
In 2018, we got something back.

Welcome to Nocterra, a microcosm of an alien planet where the visible light spectrum does not exist. Experts have identified that each wall in this recovered spacecraft was intended to teach us something about the Nocterran way of life, but after months of slow progress, the Winslow Corporation is crowd-sourcing the public’s help to unlock these mysteries.

Every fifteen minutes, a new crew of research specialists is invited onboard the craft. After a brief light readjustment experience to prepare their eyes for complete darkness, each researcher will have the opportunity to try to solve the puzzles and make meaning out of the materials on her wall using the senses of touch, smell, and sound. Will they help the world understand what the Nocterrans are trying to tell us?

This experiential installation meets puzzle room is designed to be experienced in complete darkness. The Mission to Nocterra experience was created in collaboration with Matt Gesualdi, Dan Griner, Bailey Van Etten, Mara Maxwell, and Brice Sullivan in partnership with the Colorado Center for the Blind and Maker Faire Denver with support from Meow Wolf.

Elements which I personally designed and built include: audio soundscape, Biospheres puzzle wall, 1-minute dynamic “light adjustment” experience on entry and exit to the structure. In addition, all collaborators assisted in the development of the overall concept and backstory and the “pre-theatre” experiences props, costumes, and performance.

Selected press coverage

Try an escape room in total darkness at the Denver Maker Faire” in 303 Magazine, October 2018

Walk through an alien world at this year’s Maker Faire Denver” in Nerd Alert News, October 2018

Chromabar

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Chromabar is an approximately 30-minute site-specific experiential soundwalk via smartphone and indoor interactive installation. Participants are invited on a journey into an alternate version of the city, a grayscale world where colours are highly regulated, forcing venues like the colourful Chromabar underground. Luckily you’ve got a guide, and a ticket to get in.

Watch the trailer below or reach out to bring Chromabar to your city.